OU Health Sciences Center researchers found that reduced lung function might be a sign of diabetes in Native Americans, according to a new published paper.

The study was conducted by the Center for American Indian Health Research at the OU College of Public Health. Researchers looked at Native American men and women with and without diabetes and measured lung functions.

They found decreased lung function often preceded signs of diabetes, College of Public Health professor and researcher Fawn Yeh said. Lung function tests measure the strength of the lungs, air capacity , exhaling capacity and exhaling speed

The lung function was a possible indictor of type 2 diabetes, which is characterized by an inability to eliminate sugars from the blood because of an insulin resistance, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Doctors test blood glucose and sugar levels to determine whether a patient is diabetic, Yeh said, and lung impairment develops prior to this .

The study is not definitive enough to say decreased lung function will be a sure predictor of diabetes, but it is a step in the right direction, Yeh said. Diabetes is often part of a larger problem called metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome consists increased fat in the blood, reduced High-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high blood pressure and high glucose levels, according to the study paper. It can lead to diabetes and heart disease.

Yeh is now working on trying to find why Native Americans might have decreased lung function and how it is related to metabolic syndrome, she said.

“We know obesity is related and are trying to understand why, and that might be inflammation,” Yeh said. “It is a very common cause of other complications like kidney disease, but how inflammation causes reduced lung function and why some of them cause kidney disease or eye disease not clear to me.”

This is one of the first studies to look specifically at Native American populations, which has one of the highest diabetes rates in the U.S., according to the paper.

“Oklahoma has very high rates of diabetes driven by a growing problem with overweight and obesity,” said Gary Raskob, dean of the OU College of Public Health, in a press release. “Our state has very high rates of chronic obstructive lung disease, largely due to smoking. The fact that a diabetic patient may be at greater risk of lung disease strongly supports the need to address tobacco use, as well as obesity.”

It is important doctors be aware that diabetes patients, especially Native Americans, might have reduced lung function so they know to look for it, Yeh said.

“This is a new area that doctors need to pay attention to in diabetic patients,” Yeh said. “They might have some lung problem but because it is not serious enough the doctor did not try to treat or prevent it to get worse.”

This study is published in the October 2011 issue of Diabetes Care, a journal that focuses on diabetes and heart disease in Native American populations.