Type 5 Diabetes: The 70-Year Mystery Explained
- This article discusses Type 5 Diabetes, a newly recognized form of the disease that has been largely overlooked for decades.
- * It's not linked to obesity, unhealthy lifestyle, pregnancy, or autoimmune disorders - unlike other known types of diabetes.
- * First observed in Jamaica in the 1950s among young, thin, malnourished individuals.
Type 5 Diabetes: A Summary
This article discusses Type 5 Diabetes, a newly recognized form of the disease that has been largely overlooked for decades. here’s a breakdown of the key data:
What is Type 5 Diabetes?
* It’s not linked to obesity, unhealthy lifestyle, pregnancy, or autoimmune disorders – unlike other known types of diabetes.
* The primary cause is believed to be chronic malnutrition in early life, leading to pancreatic damage or incomplete development, resulting in a weakened ability to produce insulin.
History & Finding:
* First observed in Jamaica in the 1950s among young, thin, malnourished individuals.
* These patients differed from Type 1 diabetics in that they didn’t experience severe ketoacidosis or insulin resistance typical of Type 2.
* Previously known as Malnutrition-Related Diabetes Mellitus (MRDM).
Why was it ignored?
* The World Health Organization (WHO) briefly recognized it in the 1980s but later retracted the recognition due to a lack of scientific evidence at the time.
* Recent studies suggest it may affect around 25 million people globally,especially in low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa where food insecurity is prevalent.
Importance:
The recent re-classification as a distinct type of diabetes (Type 5) is bringing attention to a disease that has been medically “invisible” for a long time, especially in vulnerable populations.