Five different types of diabetes identified

Scientists believe they have identified five different types of diabetes.

A study carried out by researchers from Sweden and Finland identified five replicable clusters of patients with diabetes, which came with significantly different characteristics and risk of different complications. Diabetes is presently classified into two main forms – type 1 and type 2 but type 2 diabetes in particular is highly heterogeneous.

The team said its findings could lead to more personalised treatment and also identify those with an increased risk of complications at the stage of diagnosis. The research, which is published in the Lancet, found cluster 3 was the most resistant to insulin and individuals had significantly higher risk of diabetic kidney disease than individuals in clusters 4and5.