Vascular volume changes in radiological patterns of usual interstitial pneumonia in patients with type 2 diabetes

This research primarily focuses on exploring the changes in intrapulmonary vascular volume (IPVV) in radiological patterns of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) associated with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), thereby inferring the possible mechanisms of the co-occurrence of diabetes and UIP patterns.

Thin-layer data were post-processed on the basis of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and quantitatively assessed for IPVV. Changes in IPVV were compared between T2DM combined with UIP modality and T2DM non-UIP modality. Correlations between UIP patterns and various markers and confounders, including IPVV, were determined via logistic regression analysis. In this study, the potential of IPVV as a predictor for UIP presence was analysed through the application of subject operating characteristic curve analysis.

In patients with T2DM, the IPVV demonstrated smaller size in those with combined UIP patterns compared to T2DM patients without UIP patterns (164.4 ± 68.7 vs 202.9 ± 76.3 mL, P = 0.005). We detected a positive correlation between IPVV levels and several variables, including fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (r = 0.404, P < 0.0001), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (r = 0.225, P = 0.022), serum uric acid (SUA) (r = 0.332, P = 0.0007) and HRCT scores (r = 0.288, P = 0.024). Conversely, negative correlations were noted with total cholesterol (TC) (r = -0.220, P = 0.028) and cystatin-C (Cys-C) (r = -0.215, P = 0.038). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified independent associations between the presence of UIP and several factors: IPVV, age, smoking history, and FPG. In assessing the combined UIP pattern among T2DM patients, IPVV levels exhibited a sensitivity of 70.5% and a specificity of 58.5%, generating an AUC of 0.645.

In individuals diagnosed with T2DM alongside UIP, a substantial decline in IPVV was documented. This diminution correlates with the presence of UIP, suggesting that IPVV may serve as a potent biomarker for detecting UIP patterns in individuals with T2DM. This may suggest that the mechanism behind the co-occurrence of T2DM with UIP patterns is attributed to alterations in the pulmonary microvasculature, potentially representing one of the vascular complications associated with diabetes.