title: Update on diabetes classification.
abstract: This article highlights the difficulties in creating a definitive classification of diabetes mellitus in the absence of a complete understanding of the pathogenesis of the major forms. This brief review shows the evolving nature of the classification of diabetes mellitus. No classification scheme is ideal, and all have some overlap and inconsistencies. The only diabetes in which it is possible to accurately diagnose by DNA sequencing, monogenic diabetes, remains undiagnosed in more than 90% of the individuals who have diabetes caused by one of the known gene mutations. The point of classification, or taxonomy, of disease, should be to give insight into both pathogenesis and treatment. It remains a source of frustration that all schemes of diabetes mellitus continue to fall short of this goal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, The University of Chicago, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, MC 1027, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Electronic address: cthomas5@bsd.uchicago.edu.
authors.forename: Celeste C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, The University of Chicago, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, MC 1027, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, The University of Chicago, 900 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Louis H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Philipson
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D002965:Classification; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019468:Disease Management; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D024661:Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying / Q000235:genetics; D064233:Sulfonylurea Receptors / Q000235:genetics; D000099161:Kcnj11 Channel
chemical_list: D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D024661:Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying; D064233:Sulfonylurea Receptors; D000099161:Kcnj11 Channel; C577507:ABCC8 protein, human; C418974:FOXP3 protein, human
keywords: Classification of diabetes mellitus; Gestational diabetes mellitus; Latent autoimmune diabetes of adults; Maturity-onset diabetes of the young; Monogenic diabetes; Neonatal diabetes; Secondary diabetes; Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus