New Type 1 Diabetes Subtype Found in African Children, Study Says

• Jul 24, 2025

A groundbreaking international study has identified a previously unknown form of type 1 diabetes in young people across sub-Saharan Africa, prompting concern over widespread misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. The discovery challenges long-standing global definitions of diabetes and may lead to major changes in how the disease is diagnosed and managed on the continent.

The study, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, is the largest of its kind conducted in Africa. Funded by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the study found that about 65% of African youths diagnosed with type 1 diabetes do not exhibit the typical autoimmune markers or genetic risk factors commonly associated with the disease. Instead, they seem to have a new, non-autoimmune subtype of diabetes that is not currently included in global medical classifications.

Edith Mukantwari, a Ugandan diabetes advocate who helped advise the study, shared her personal experience. Misdiagnosed at 16 with type 2 diabetes, her condition worsened until she was later correctly identified as having type 1 diabetes. Her story reflects the risks of diagnostic gaps and supports the study's conclusion that African youths may be living with a different form of diabetes that is often overlooked.

The findings come from the Young-Onset Diabetes in Sub-Saharan Africa (YODA) study, which included nearly 900 participants under the age of 25 from Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa. Researchers also reviewed data from over 3,000 young people in the U.S. and found similar patterns in a small number of Black American youths, but not in white participants, suggesting genetic or environmental links.

Clinicians involved in the study have observed that African children with this form of diabetes often avoid common complications associated with type 1 diabetes, such as other autoimmune conditions or diabetic ketoacidosis. This suggests the new subtype may be milder or fundamentally different in nature.

The research team plans to explore potential causes, including environmental exposure, infections, and nutrition, and is also investigating whether some people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes may, in fact, have this newly identified form.

Researchers say these findings reveal a major gap in global diabetes knowledge, which has mostly focused on Western populations. They’re now urging greater investment in region-specific studies to better understand and treat diabetes in African settings.