Impact of diabetes mellitus on the risk of severe exacerbation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Introduction Suffering type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) appears to promote the occurrence of respiratory infections. However, studies to evaluate the risk of hospital admission due to exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and concomitant T2DM are scarce. Materials and methods Prospective, observational study with a maximum follow up of 18 months. Information on lung function, body mass index, degree of dyspnoea, number of exacerbations, comorbidities, and pneumococcal vaccination was obtained. Patients were classified into the categories COPD with (COPD/+T2DM) and without T2DM (COPD/-T2DM). Results A total of 121 patients with COPD were enrolled. Forty-seven (38%) of the study participants were diabetic. The presence of T2DM increased the risk of hospital admission due to COPD exacerbation (OR 2.66; p= 0.031), but no significant difference in the total number of exacerbations was detected. Conclusions The risk of hospital admission in the course of exacerbation seems to be higher in COPD/+T2DM patients than in COPD/-T2DM subjects.