Breaking popular perceptions about there being only two types of Diabetes — Type I which onsets in childhood and Type II which is more of a lifestyle disorder — a study by medical journal The Lancet has gone on to say that there are at least five types of adult diabetes. They also stated that an alarming 37 per cent of severe diabetes population is young and not obese.
This study gains importance as each type of Diabetes requires different treatment. This study — conducted on 14,775 patients across Finland and Sweden over age of 18 years — assumes significance as the medical classification of diabetes has not been updated for 20 years and mainly relies on measuring blood glucose levels. Four classifications have been proposed in Type II Diabetes.
These types of diabetes were distinct, and included three severe and two mild forms of the disease.
The study found while there is Type I diabetes which is genetic, there are four distinct subtypes of Type II diabetes. Up to 6 to 15 per cent patients had Type I diabetes. Of this, a majority — 39 to 47 per cent — were elderly people with mild diabetes while 18-20 per cent were obese.
The rest were fairly young and not obese, but had severe forms of diabetes. 11 to 17 per cent showed severe insulin resistance and a high risk of kidney disease.
"All five types of diabetes were also genetically distinct, with no mutations associated with all types of the disease. This supports the idea that the five types of diabetes are not simply different stages of the same disease," a researcher said.
"Evidence suggests that early treatment for diabetes is crucial to prevent life-shortening complications. More accurately diagnosing diabetes could give us valuable insights into how it will develop over time, allowing us to predict and treat complications before they develop," says the lead author Professor Leif Groop, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Sweden.
It is estimated that there are 14.3 crore diabetics across the world, and India with close to five crore diabetics is the Diabetes capital.
Shocking revelation
- The study assumes significance as the medical classification of diabetes has not been updates for over 20 years.
- It shows that 37 per cent of severe diabetic population was young and were not obese, thus ruling out the age and weight factor.
