There are concerns Australians with a rare and relatively unknown type of diabetes may be missing out on the most effective treatments because they have been misdiagnosed.
Type 2 diabetes accounts for 85 per cent of all diabetes in Australia and around 10 to 15 per cent have Type 1.
However, there is a third type of diabetes known as Type 3c, or Pancreatogenic diabetes, caused by damage to the pancreas.
A new UK study of 30,000 adults with early onset diabetes, published recently in the journal Diabetes Care, found 559 occurred after pancreatic disease.
Despite the link between pancreatic disease and Type 3c diabetes, 88 per cent of those cases were still diagnosed with the more common type of adult-onset diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and only three per cent diagnosed as Type 3.
The researchers say the findings imply some level of misdiagnosis.
Professor Jonathan Shaw, Deputy Director at the Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute believes an under recognition of this third form of diabetes may also be an issue in Australia.
He says the study is a "very good reminder" that there are people whose diabetes may be following a slightly different path to the typical Type 2 diabetes.
"I would expect that we have the same issue here, that many people with Type 3c diabetes are being labelled with Type 2 or occasionally Type 1 and that some, certainly not all, may not be receiving the ideal treatment," Prof Shaw told AAP.
For people with Type 3 diabetes insulin is required earlier on and there are a couple of drugs they should avoid, said Prof Shaw.
Inappropriate treatment because of a misdiagnosis could potentially lead to further damage of the pancreas, he warned.
"Occasionally they may be treated with a drug that is risky for them that may cause further problems with their pancreas; that's probably the least likely but most dangerous potential outcome," said Prof Shaw.
"The other problem is it takes longer for the person to be prescribed insulin and too much time is wasted either using tablets or trying to get people to improve their diet and do more exercise, all of which is all useful but its a lot less useful with people with Type 3 diabetes."
Professor Shaw says recognising if a person has a history of pancreatic disease, whether or not it caused the diabetes, is very important.
"This is a subgroup of diabetes patients that require special attention to certain aspects of treatment."
