Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 in Hospitalized COPD Patients: Impact on Quality of Life and Lung Function.

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is estimated to affect 2-37% of COPD patients, results varying widely between studies. DM may also correlate with quality of life and lung function.
Aim: To examine correlations between DM and quality of life and lung function in COPD patients admitted to hospital with exacerbation of COPD.
Patients and Methods: A hundred and fifty-two patients were included in the study. They were all examined for diabetes mellitus. All patients completed CAT and mMRC questionnaires and underwent spirometry.
Results: 13.2% (20/152) of patients received medications for DM. 21.7% (33/152) had newly diagnosed DM and 30.9% (47/152) had prediabetes. DM is not associated with reduced quality of life and worse pulmonary function. However, untreated DM is associated with both reduced quality of life and worse pulmonary function. HbA1c is negatively correlated with FVC and positively correlated with CAT score.
Conclusions: COPD patients hospitalized for exacerbation are at high risk for impaired glucose metabolism. Untreated DM is associated with worse lung function and lower quality of life, which stresses the importance of screening for the disease. The patients may benefit from optimizing blood glucose level.