A new study has discovered that people suffering from diabetes, who are admitted to hospital for unexpected deteriorating of symptoms of the widespread lung disease called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), have to stay in hospital for longer durations and are more liable to succumb to death, as compared to COPD patients with no diabetes.

The researchers at Liverpool Hospital in Australia clarified that this may be because mutilation of their immune response owing to high blood sugar might lead to more austere contagions.

The researchers assessed the records of COPD patients hospitalized with an abrupt aggravating of symptoms (severe exacerbations) during 2007.

The average duration of stay for patients having diabetes was 7.8 days, which was 10.3% more than the average stay of 6.5 days for patients, who do not have diabetes.

Amongst admitted patients, the mortality rate for COPD patients having diabetes was 8%, in contrast to 4% for those without diabetes, according to the report that appeared in the June edition of the journal Respirology.

Study Leader, Dr. Ali Parappil, of the Liverpool Hospital's respiratory medicine department, said, "Taken together with other studies, our study shows that diabetes was an adverse prognostic factor in COPD patients. We believe that better control of diabetes in patients with COPD could improve outcomes; in particular, reducing length of hospital stays and risk of death".