Association of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) by oxidative stress may play an important role in the pathogenesis of various chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and malignancy that are linked to metabolic syndrome. Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We examined the relationship between IPF and presenting factors associated with metabolic disorders. Methods: One hundred fourteen patients who met the current consensus of IPF definition were enrolled from March 2000 to April 2006 in Gil Hospital and Samsung Medical Center in Korea. One hundred thirty-four control subjects without pulmonary diseases were selected from subjects who visited Gil hospital for routine medical examinations, including low-dose chest computed tomography from January 2002 to July 2006. Retrospectively, we analyzed the clinical characteristics, the results of blood examinations, and lung function tests from medical records of both groups. Results: IPF patients and control subjects differed in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus as assessed by univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that diabetes mellitus and obesity were associated with IPF. The adjusted odds ratios for diabetes mellitus were 2.733 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.282-5.827) and 2.001 (95% [CI], 1.063-3.766) for obesity. The remaining factors tested showed no differences between the patient group and the control. Conclusion: Diabetes mellitus and obesity may be associated with IPF development. Copyright