Cardiorespiratory Function as Assessed by Exercise Testing in Patients with Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus

Exercise testing was used to examine 19 cardiorespiratory diabetes mellitus patients, aged 32 - 68 years (body mass index, 27.8 ± 4.8 kg/m 2 ), and 16 healthy volunteers, aged 23 - 57 years (body mass index, 22.7 ± 2.5 kg/m 2 ). A graded cycling exercise test was done, monitoring gas exchange, ventilation and heart rate. Values were significantly higher in the non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients than in the controls for fasting blood glucose (P < 0.01), glycosylated haemoglobin (P < 0.01), body weight (P < 0.05) and body mass index (P < 0.05). The exercise testing produced values that were significantly lower in the patients with NIDDM than in the controls for percentage oxygen uptake (P < 0.05), maximum load (P < 0.05), maximum metabolic equivalent (P < 0.01) and maximum oxygen uptake per unit body weight (P < 0.01). Ventilatory capacity and forced expiratory volume at 1 sec did not differ significantly in the two groups. These results suggest that general fitness is diminished due to reduced cardiorespiratory function in patients with NIDDM.