Study identifies 5 types of diabetes instead of 2

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 …read more