A large-scale analysis from India has put the spotlight on lean diabetes, a form of diabetes that affects individuals with a BMI under 18.5 kg/m². Unlike the typical picture of type 2 diabetes, which is often linked to obesity and insulin resistance, lean diabetes is marked by earlier onset, pronounced insulin deficiency , and a higher burden of microvascular complications. The study, published in the Journal of Diabetes and its Complications by researchers at the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), reviewed electronic records of 398,258 patients with type 2 diabetes seen between 1992 and 2023.
Among them, 1.5% (n=5,865) were identified as having lean diabetes. A Different Clinical Profile Patients with lean diabetes were on average younger (mean age 45.2 years), with a male predominance . They had significantly higher fasting and postprandial glucose levels, elevated HbA1c,…
