Poor lung function may increase diabetes risk

A new study shows that impaired pulmonary function is linked with an increased occurrence of diabetes.

The finding, consistent with previous reports, is reported in the medical journal Diabetes Care.

Drs. Earl S. Ford and David M. Mannino from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta analyzed data on 4,830 men and women aged 25 to 74 participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study.

The participants were interviewed and examined first between 1971 and 1975, and followed through 1992-1993.

During follow-up, 443 of the subjects became diabetic. Analysis showed that the chances of developing diabetes increased as various measures of lung function decreased.

The team notes that additional studies are needed to better understand the relationship between impaired lung function and diabetes.

"Inflammation associated with pulmonary disorders could conceivably contribute to the development of diabetes," they point out. "If so, abnormal pulmonary function or lung disease could act as a risk factor for diabetes."

Possibly, however, the process may be the reverse. In that case, if "the development of diabetes impairs lung function, the changes could be seen as risk markers rather than risk factors for diabetes."

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, December 2004.