Diabetes can affect lung function
Q. Recently a research by an Indian scientist has shown correlation of Diabetes with which of the following organs?- Published on 08 Mar 16a. Lungs
b. Heart
c. Small Intestine
d. Brain
ANSWER: Lungs
- High levels of insulin directly damage the lung structure, says global study.
- Diabetes may be impeding the normal functioning of lungs and common medicines that are used to treat insulin resistance may actually be exacerbating conditions such as asthma, report a team of Indian, European and American scientists. Most medicines to treat diabetes attempt to control the excess blood sugar by pumping in ever-increasing quantities of insulin into the body. That only makes matters worse.
- Notably, Indians have the lowest lung function in the world even after adjusting for our smaller body size. The importance of this research paper is that it shows for the first time that high levels of insulin are directly damaging the lung structure and function.
- Recently, there have been a number of studies showing that when adjusted for body size, Indians have among the smallest lungs in the world or nearly a third smaller than a white European of similar size. This means a reduced efficiency to filter oxygen from ingested air, an accelerated decline in lung function with age as well as an increased propensity to contract respiratory diseases.
