Diabetes Q&A

5 New Diabetes Categories Proposed

The authors of a recent study have proposed 5 new classifications for patients with diabetes in hopes of tailoring future treatments and targeting early treatments to patients with the condition.

The proposal was formed following the completion of a data-driven cluster analysis of 8980 patients with newly diagnosed diabetes who were enrolled in the Swedish All New Diabetics in Scania cohort.


YOU MIGHT LIKE
CDC: A Quarter of ED Visits Are Diabetes-Related
Healthy Eating Patterns Yield Better Outcomes for Type 2 Diabetes


Ultimately, the researchers categorized patients into the following 5 clusters:

  • Severe autoimmune diabetes (formerly type 1 diabetes)
  • Severe insulin-deficient diabetes
  • Severe insulin-resistant diabetes
  • Mild obesity-related diabetes
  • Mild age-related diabetes

Patients were assigned to a cluster based on the presence of glutamate decarboxylase antibodies, age at diagnosis, body mass index, hemoglobin A1c levels, and homoeostatic model assessment of 2 estimates of β-cell function and insulin resistance.

To view the full version of the proposal, click here.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Ahlqvist E, Storm P, Käräjämäki A, et al. Novel subgroups of adult-onset diabetes and their association with outcomes: a data-driven cluster analysis of six variables [Published online March 1, 2018]. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(18)30051-2.