A major Swedish study has discovered there are not only two, but five types of diabetes. Most of us know of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but now, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have found that diabetes is actually made up of five conditions. Researchers say the news should prompt a “paradigm shift” in treatment.

In the study which is called ANDIS, recently published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, researchers created five groups from more than 13,000 newly diagnosed diabetes patients between the ages of 18 and 97.

By isolating measurements of insulin resistance, insulin secretion, blood sugar levels, age, and the onset of illness, they distinguished five types of the disease — three serious and two milder forms.

It has long been known that type 2 diabetes is highly variable, but classification has remained unchanged for decades.

– This is the first step towards personalised treatment of diabetes, says senior author Leif Groop, an endocrinologist at Lund University in Sweden.

Today, about 425 million people around the world have diabetes, and the number is expected to increase drastically. Studies like these are of great importance. Hopefully, they lead to better and earlier treatments for patients all over the world.

More about diabetes here on the blog:

New Study Confirms: Alzheimer’s Disease May Be a Form of Diabetes

New Study: Low Carbohydrate Diet is an Effective Treatment for Fatty Liver Disease

The Dietary Science Foundation’s New Goal: To Evaluate What Kind of Diet is Most Effective in Counteracting Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

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