A Newly Recognized Form of Diabetes Linked to malnutrition
A distinct form of diabetes, separate from Type 1 and Type 2, is gaining recognition among global health experts, particularly impacting individuals in impoverished nations, according to a report by AFP. Researchers are urging the international diabetes community to formally acknowledge this unique presentation of the disease.
The study, published in Lancet Global Health, represents a consensus reached by the International Diabetes Federation.while Type 1 diabetes typically affects young people with acute insulin deficiency, and Type 2 is more common in older adults with insulin resistance, this newly identified form presents differently.
This diabetes manifests in younger patients, ofen under thirty, but with a less severe onset than Type 1. Insulin production is only mildly reduced, and crucially, excess weight is not a risk factor. In fact, patients are generally malnourished or undernourished, with a lower weight than normal.
An estimated 25 million people worldwide are affected, predominantly in developing countries.The World Health Association (WHO) previously recognized a ”diabetes associated with malnutrition” in the 1980s and 90s, but dropped the classification in 1999 due to a lack of consensus on malnutrition being a sole causative factor.
However,recent studies conducted in Bangladesh,Ethiopia,India,Indonesia,Nigeria,Uganda,Pakistan,and Rwanda have reinforced the existence of this distinct mechanism.
Currently, the underlying physiological processes driving this form of diabetes and the most effective treatment strategies remain unknown. Weight loss is not recommended, and the efficacy of standard treatments like metformin and insulin is uncertain.
The authors emphasize that addressing this diabetes requires a focus on alleviating poverty and hunger, specifically by “increasing access to simple, cheap, nourishing and high protein foods.”
