Diabetes mellitus and the lungs

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by hyperglycemia causing damage to the vascular system. The lungs with a large vascular network are also predisposed to diabetes’ vascular damage. Diabetes may lead to pulmonary parenchymal damage besides alterations in the vascular system and the alveolar-capillary membrane. Symptoms and damage caused by diabetes are usually underdiagnosed because of the large pulmonary reserves. Pulmonary involvement in diabetes is an area that draws attention in recent years. This attention increases especially with the new Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic when the worse prognosis is detected in diabetics. In this review, possible mechanisms leading to pulmonary involvement and pulmonary function abnormalities in diabetes, the interaction between COVID-19 and diabetes concerning lungs, and the basic effects of antidiabetic drugs on the lungs are discussed in the view of the literature.