Historically, diabetes has been divided into two types: type 1 diabetes called “insulin-dependent” which is an autoimmune disease that usually develops in childhood, and type 2 diabetes which usually develops later in life and is linked to obesity.
Now, for better treating diabetic patients, the scientists thinking that it is time to drop this idea, because according to them, there would be not two forms of diabetes but five.
In a study published in The Lancet, researchers at Lund University in Sweden detail the 5 new subgroups, which they managed to form after studying the records of 8,980 diagnosed diabetic patients in a Swedish registry and data from 5,795 other adult patients from Sweden and Finland.
Two severe forms of the disease
Researchers believe that what is commonly referred to as type 2 diabetes actually encompasses four categories, two of which are severe forms of the disease.
• One, called severe insulin-dependent diabetes, has characteristics similar to current type 1 diabetes such as a relatively low body mass index (BMI), a lack of insulin and an early onset, but does not show any antibodies indicative of an autoimmune disease. Diabetic eye disease was the most common in this group.
• The other severe category, called severe insulin-resistant diabetes, is linked to obesity and shows a strong tendency for cells in the body to not respond to insulin, with those patients having the highest likelihood of having liver disease or chronic kidney failure.
And two more benign forms
The other two categories of diabetes are milder forms of the disease. One of them known as obesity-related diabetes is linked to high BMI and the other, mild age-related diabetes, is usually seen in elderly patients.
“Taking into account these sub-groups would mean for the patients more individualized therapyand a better quality of life “said Prof. Leif Groop, professor of diabetes and endocrinology, who led the study.
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