Significance of spirometry in diabetic patients

Spirometry is a widely used pulmonary function test (PFT), ideally suited to describing the effects of obstruction or restriction on lung function. It is a powerful diagnostic tool that plays a significant role in the early diagnosis of lung damage and its associated structures. It is also used to monitor the therapeutic efficacy of various treatment regimes and the course of the disease. The spirometric parameters have gained more popularity when it has been reported that impaired Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 s (FEV1) are emerging novel risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus. These spirometric parameter derangements have been evident on spirometry long before the clinical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or insulin resistance. In spite of this, spirometry is not used routinely as part of a management system in diabetic patients. Its role is neither fully explored, nor fully utilized to achieve quality of life when managing diabetes mellitus. The aim of the present review is to highlight the evidence based significance of spirometry in the light of peer reviewed published literature. It may serve as a brief reference for diabetes management teams to enable spirometry to be included in the algorithm of the routine assessment of diabetic patients.