Type 5 Diabetes : Recognized
Type 5 diabetes has been officially recognised as a distinct form of diabetes by the International Diabetes Federation.
- Type 5 diabetes primarily affects lean, undernourished teenagers and young adults in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
- It is caused by malnutrition-induced reduction in insulin production, unlike Type 2 diabetes, which involves insulin resistance with continuing insulin secretion.
- In Type 5, the pancreatic beta cells function abnormally, resulting in severely reduced insulin secretion.
- This form of diabetes has long been neglected in medical research and often misdiagnosed.
- The condition was first reported in Jamaica in 1955 under the term J-type diabetes.
- No autoimmune or genetic cause is associated with this condition.
- Patients have very low BMI (<18.5 kg/m²), much lower than typical Type 2 diabetic patients.
- Insulin levels are extremely low, significantly below Type 2 diabetes and slightly above Type 1 diabetes.
- Body fat percentage is substantially lower than in Type 2 patients.
- Dietary intake of protein, fibre, and micronutrients is notably inadequate.
