Type 5 Diabetes Mellitus: Nutritional-Imprinted β-Cell Insufficiency, Diagnostic Gaps, and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies

By:
Shida Chen; Ming Lu
Date:
2026

This review introduces Type 5 diabetes as a nutrition-related, insulin-deficient form of diabetes linked to early-life undernutrition and reduced β-cell capacity. It highlights major diagnostic challenges, frequent misclassification as lean type 2 diabetes, and the need for nutrition-integrated approaches to classification, treatment, and future research.