Scientists Reveal New Types Of Diabetes That Attack Young People In Africa

Illustration of blood sugar check (Photo: Freepik/Freepik)

JAKARTA - Scientists have identified a new form of type 1 diabetes subtype in Sub-Saharan Africa found in pediatric patients and young adults of African descent and parts of America.

This study revealed that some people with type 1 diabetes in the region did not experience disorders caused by the immune system, as is common in conventional type 1 diabetes.

This discovery has the potential to open a new approach in diagnosing, caring for, and managing this disease in various regions.

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition that interferes with the body's ability to produce insulin, an important hormone that helps the body process glucose into energy.

Unlike type 2 diabetes which is often associated with obesity and insulin resistance, type 1 diabetes is considered an autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

However, recent research conducted by an international team of scientists showed the presence of type 1 diabetes that was not related to autoimmune disorders.

"This is the first study in several Sub-Saharan African countries to use the same laboratory tests and genetics tools to understand more deeply about type 1 diabetes," said Dana Dabelea, Professor and Dean of Research at the Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, quoted from the IFL Science page.

"We have conducted similar research in the US with different groups, but what's interesting about this study is the ability to compare results between Africa and the US," he continued.

In the study, Dabelea and his team analyzed 8894 participants with diabetes that emerged at a young age from Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa. They then compared the results of this group with data from Americans obtained in previous studies.

"This is a very unique and important opportunity to explore the diversity of type 1 diabetes in various countries and race groups living in very different environments," said Dabelea.

In general, people with type 1 diabetes have markers in the blood called islet autoantibodies, which appear when insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas are damaged. The presence of these markers is used by doctors to distinguish type 1 diabetes from type 2 or other rare forms such as monogenic diabetes.

However, the research team found that 65 percent of people with type 1 diabetes in the African Sub-Sahara region did not have the autoimmune marker.

"This suggests that many young people in this region may have completely different types of type 1 diabetes and are not caused by autoimmunity," Dabelea explained.

When this result was compared to data from the United States, it was found that about 15 percent of black participants diagnosed with type 1 diabetes also had no autoimmune markers and had a low type 1 genetic risk score.

On the other hand, white participants with type 1 diabetes generally still show autoimmune patterns, although in some cases autoantibodies are not detected, but genetically they are still classified as autoimmune sufferers.

"Identification of this diabetes subtype in the African population of Sub-Sahara and individual African descent in the US indicates the possibility of genetic or ancestral relationships," Dabelea said.

"These findings emphasize the importance of considering alternative causes in this group, and a deeper understanding of its basic mechanisms can provide important insights into future prevention and treatment strategies." he continued.

This study provides strong evidence that type 1 diabetes does not always have the same pattern around the world. This reminds us that environmental, genetic, and ancestral factors can form a variety of forms of disease, which is important to take into account in future medical approaches.