A new form of diabetes, one mainly affects younger teenagers and young adults, is now officially recognized as “type 5 diabetes”.

The announcement was made by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in 2025, the World Diabetes Congress held in Bangkok. Type 5 diabetes affects 25 million people globally, and many may not require insulin unlike people with type 1 diabetes, which usually require insulin (hormone) injections to control their blood sugar.

This type of diabetes has long been seen in countries such as Asia and Africa, but was often incorrectly and incorrectly grown under type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Now, scientist Dr. With the leading research by Meredith Hawkins, the disease is given its category.

What is type 5 diabetes?

Type 5 diabetes, also known as diabetes related to malnutrition, affects mostly thin people who have especially faced malnutrition during childhood.

Unlike type 2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity and insulin resistance, this type is caused by poor development of the pancreas, due to lack of nutrition in years.

People with type 5 diabetes have a difficult time to make enough insulin, which is hormone that helps control blood sugar levels. But unlike people with type 2 diabetes, their bodies can still react well to insulin.

This makes it different from both type 1 (an autoimmune position) and type 2 diabetes.

Many people with type 5 diabetes may not even require insulin injections, and can be treated with oral drugs, which can make treatment more inexpensive in low -income settings.

‘A historic innings’

Announcing the new classification, IDF President Peter Schwarz said, “Recognition of type 5 diabetes marks a historical change of how we reach diabetes globally. For a very long time, this situation has been unaffected, affects millions of people and deprives them of access to customized care,” IDF Chairman Peter Schwarz said.

A new type 5 diabetes work group has been formed to determine clear rules for diagnosis and treatment. This will build a global research registry and launch a training module for healthcare workers.

This group is being co-headed.

It is estimated that around 20 to 25 million people worldwide are living with type 5 diabetes, mostly in developing areas such as Asia and Africa. However, for decades, this form of diabetes was largely noticed or misled.

Dr. Hawkins, an endocrinologist who has studied the condition over the years, said that he had first heard about it from doctors at global health programs in the early 2000s.

“He told me about young, thin patients, who looked that they had type 1 diabetes, but insulin did not help them. In fact, it sometimes makes them worse. These patients were either not fat, so it was not even a type 2 diabetes. It was misleading,” she said.

From confusion to clarity

Although diabetes related to malnutrition was first noted in the 1950s, it did not pay much attention to global research. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognized it as a different type in 1985, but removed it in 1999 due to lack of data.

In 2010, Dr. Hawkins established the Global Diabetes Institute and began research on this condition. There was a success in 2022, when a study by his team in India at Christian Medical College in Vellore confirmed that patients with diabetes had very low insulin levels, but not due to resistance, as before.

“This discovery has completely changed how we think about the disease and how we treat it,” Dr. Hawkins said.

In January 2025, there was an international meeting of diabetes experts in India to review new data on this situation. Following the performances of researchers in many countries, the panels, which included IDF chief and American Diabetes Association, unanimously voted to recognize it as a different type of diabetes.

Later this decision was confirmed at the IDF Congress in Bangkok, making it official.

Now, the focus has put a spotlight on spreading awareness and updating medical guidelines and updating the access to treatment. “It’s about saving equity, science and life,” Schwarz said.