Type 5 Diabetes Is a Rare, Often Misdiagnosed New Form of Disease

After years of debate, there is a new type of diabetes on the block. Officially dubbed “Type 5 Diabetes,” this one isn’t caused by genetics or overeating. This form of diabetes hits the world’s most vulnerable, adding misery on top of misery. It affects young, malnourished folks in low-income countries who can’t afford a proper meal.

The existence of Type 5 has been debated for over 70 years, first noticed in Jamaica back in 1955 and briefly acknowledged by the World Health Organization in the ’80s, only for the whole issue to be unceremoniously dropped in 1999 due to “lack of evidence.”

Finally, in April 2025, the debate was put to rest as the International Diabetes Federation, or IDF, made Type 5 an official diagnosis. This new but also old form of diabetes, also called MODY, or Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young, is what happens when your pancreas taps out, not because you overfed it, but because you never got properly fed in the first place.

What is Type 5 Diabetes?

It tends to show up in underweight teens and young adults, mostly in Africa and Asia, and in people with dangerously low BMIs. It’s often misdiagnosed as Type 1 diabetes in patients, who are then prescribed insulin, which, in this case, can make blood sugar quickly drop to dangerous, life-threatening lows.

Back in 2010, after hearing about the odd phenomenon of thin diabetics who don’t seem to be improving with insulin, Dr. Meredith Hawkins founded the Global Diabetes Institute to lead international efforts to uncover the underlying causes of malnutrition-related diabetes. In 2022, she and her team showed that Type 5 patients have a freaky genetic mutation that crushes insulin production, and it’s not fixable with a syringe. At least, not yet.

Dr. Hawkins says that while there aren’t enough studies to back it up yet, patients could potentially manage it with high-protein, low-carb diets. No one’s sure how to treat it, but now that it is being officially recognized on an international scale, maybe more research dollars will funnel toward finding a treatment.

At least now, with a name and a number, it might finally get the attention it deserves.