A06: Diabetes: Pathophysiology & Classification

Every patient in the diabetic foot clinic arrives with a diabetes label, and it is not always correct. A person with unrecognised type 1 or LADA started on lifestyle measures alone will deteriorate. A person with GCK-MODY may be treated for life for a condition that needs no treatment. New diabetes can be a marker of pancreatic cancer. The type also shapes glycaemic stability, the pace of complications and how a foot heals.

The module separates diagnosis from classification, applying the fasting glucose, oral glucose tolerance test and HbA1c thresholds before deciding the type. It places each form on the insulin-status spine, from deficiency to resistance, and uses antibodies, C-peptide and clinical features to distinguish type 1, LADA, type 2 and MODY. It covers type 3c and glucocorticoid-induced diabetes, gestational diabetes as a stress test of beta-cell reserve, data-driven subtypes and their limits, and what each means for wound healing.

Content is tiered at Foundation, Core and Advanced level, with two classification algorithms and case vignettes. You receive the Teaching Document, the Evidence Base, the slide deck, a narrated video and an audio overview.