Abstract

Introduction: All pulmonary complications of diabetes have not yet been identified completely and results of limited studies available show controversial results. This study aims to determine lung involvement in diabetic patients with and without retinopathy and compare them with healthy subjects. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on three groups, 33 diabetic patients with, and 33 patients without retinopathy and 33 healthy subjects as the control group. Diabetic patients were matched with the control group in terms of weight, height, age and sex. Spirometry was performed using a portable spirometer and the results compared with the appropriate statistical software. Results: Diabetic patients did not show significant reduction in FEV1 and FVC compared to the control group (p>0.05) but PEFR showed significant reduction (p<0.001). Mean PEFR values were lower in patients with retinopathy compared to subjects without retinopathy, difference not statistically significant (p >0.05). FEV1/FVC was significantly higher in diabetics than nondiabetics, and also in patients with retinopathy in comparison to patients without retinopathy (p<0.001). PEFR and FEV1/FVC values, in regard to duration of diabetes (≥10 Yrs), had significantly reduced and increased respectively (p=0.039, p = 0.049). Type of diabetes control (Insulin Vs Oral agents) did not show significant changes in spirometeric parameters between patients with and without diabetes (p >0. 05). Conclusion: This study showed that the pulmonary function is impaired in diabetes mellitus. Increased FEV1/FVC and decreased PEFR present a restrictive pattern in diabetic patient. And the severity of pulmonary complications seems to be correlated with other complication o f diabetes( retinopathy). Duration of diabetes has a significant association with pulmonary complications, whereas the type of treatment has no effect on pulmonary function. To design screening tests for lung involvement in diabetic patients, we need more precise and extensive studies.