Specialists urge medical community to recognize type 5 diabetes as a separate disease
In an analysis published by The Lancet Global Health, a panel of specialists urges the medical community to recognize type 5 diabetes as a disease distinct from other types of diabetes. This form of the disease —first described in 1955 and whose name “type 5” was recognized by the International Diabetes Federation in April 2025— affects 25 million people with a low body mass index, mainly in low- and middle-income countries, according to the authors' estimates. People with type 5 diabetes do not produce enough insulin, but their bodies process insulin normally. In addition, they do not usually suffer from ketoacidosis —an acute metabolic complication of diabetes— and their immune systems do not attack the pancreas.
250918 Gemma diabetes 5 EN
Gemma Rojo Martínez
Senior researcher and group leader at CIBER for Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM), researcher at the Regional University Hospital of Malaga and at IBIMA-Bionand platform
The document discusses the Vellore Declaration, which is a summary of the discussions of a working group proposing an international consensus statement on a traditionally poorly defined entity (malnutrition-associated diabetes), for which they propose a name (type 5 diabetes) and recognition that seeks improvements in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. The proposal is endorsed by the International Diabetes Federation.
As it is a condition associated with continuous malnutrition, possibly from the prenatal stage to adolescence, it is a rare problem in the developed world, but may be very common in low- and middle-income countries. The problem is the lack of research, precisely because it is not a first-world problem.
In countries that receive migrants, such as Spain, the health system must take into account the existence of the condition, as some of these migrants may have the disease due to poor living conditions in their places of origin, which is precisely why many leave their homes.
The document sets out some very clear and logical recommendations:
- More research is needed to understand its cause, its medical and social burden, its natural history, and its epidemiology.
- Working groups should be established to evaluate the proposed diagnostic criteria in different populations.
- Intervention studies should be conducted to establish the best form of treatment for this condition.
Pradnyashree Wadivkar et al.
- Opinion
- People
