New variation of diabetes identified: type 5

Type 5 diabetes

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

A new variation of diabetes has officially  been recognized by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) as of April 2025, pointing to a new variation of the disease that requires intervention.

Africa and Asia

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

Type 5 diabetes affects between 20 and 25 million people around the world, but the variation is particularly prevalent in the regions of Africa and Asia, where malnutrition is more common.

SIDD

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

Type 5 diabetes refers to “severe insulin-deficient diabetes,” a condition also known as SIDD. This type of diabetes provokes increased levels of insulin deficiency that make metabolic stability challenging for those who suffer from the disease.

Organ underdevelopment

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

Type 2 diabetes provokes a metabolic condition that prevents the human body from effectively utilizing the insulin it produces. In contrast, type 5 is an issue of organ underdevelopment.

Misclassified

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

While the observation of type 5 diabetes is not new, in fact, it’s been observed for more than 70 years, it has largely been misclassified and, ultimately, overlooked in terms of global healthcare.

Distinction between variants

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

Dr. Meredith Hawkins, an endocrinologist who works out of the Global Diabetes Institute in New York, conducted a series of research initiatives that demonstrate the distinction between type 5 diabetes and other variants.

Oral medication

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

This means that for those with type 5 diabetes, insulin injections may not be part of the therapeutic guidelines to best manage the condition. Instead, oral medication may be more suitable.

Ensuring care

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

This new research not only better equips physicians and healthcare workers to manage the disease more generally but also to tackle the challenges that come with ensuring access to care.

Effectively managing the condition

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

Each variance of the condition has its own specific diagnostic protocol, therapeutic models, and research, providing a breadth of options to effectively manage the disease.

Unusual form of diabetes

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

Dr. Hawkins first realized that type 5 was distinct in discussions with other health researchers at global health conferences. Physicians working in low-income nations discussed the “unusual form of diabetes” that they were observing in their patients.

Standard therapeutic models were ineffective

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

Doctors, therefore, were treating their patients by administering insulin injections to manage the disease, which is part of the standard therapeutic protocol for type 1 diabetes.

Diet-induced diabetes

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

These conversations led Dr. Hawkins to launch the Einstein World Diabetes Institution, in which she sought to understand the role of diet in inducing diabetes and find effective treatments.

Unrecognized

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

This defect observed in patients with type 5 diabetes had not been previously recognized and fundamentally changed the way that patient treatment methods were developed and implemented.

Change disease progression

Type 5 diabetes, Africa and Asia, Organ underdevelopment, Misclassified, Distinction between variants, Oral medication, Ensuring care, Effectively managing the condition, Unusual form of diabetes, Standard therapeutic models were ineffective, Diet-induced diabetes, Unrecognized, Change disease progression

The new working group established at the IDF World Diabetes Congress 2025, which took place in Bangkok, Thailand, has the potential to save lives and fundamentally change the course of the disease's progression.

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