PULMONARY FUNCTION TESTS AS A TOOL FOR DETERMINING LUNG AGE

Back ground: Diabetes mellitus, which is the chronic metabolic disorder, with increasing incidence, causes multiple organ damage, but lung as a target organ is seldom concentrated. Studies done earlier had proved that pulmonary complications occur in diabetes mellitus due to various causes. This study is focused to determine the lung age using pulmonary function tests, which indicate the quantity of morbidity of diabetes.Aim & objective: To determine the lung age in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using pulmonary function tests. Materials and methods: Around forty five type 2 diabetic patients attending Diabetology out patient department of Sree Balaji Medical College & Hospitals were recruited. Age and sex matched controls were also selected. Both the cases and controls were subjected to do pulmonary function tests. From the pulmonary function test parameters like FVC & FEV1 the lung age was calculated. The results were analyzed using paired student t test. Result: There was no statistical difference between the chronological age and estimated lung age in controls. Whereas in diabetic patients there was significant statistical increase in the estimated lung age when compared with the chronological age (p<0.001).conclusion: The estimated age of diabetic lung is well above the chronological age. We conclude that spirometric lung age can be used to estimate degree of impairment caused by diabetes in lungs. It can also be used as a tool to educate the patients to have good diabetic control.