We take a look at some of the exciting diabetes research developments announced in October 2025, and what the findings could mean for people living with or affected by diabetes.
In this month's article:
- New care recommendations for children and young people with early-stage type 1
- Hidden genetic risk could delay type 2 diabetes diagnosis for Black and South Asian men
- Physical activity can quickly lower high blood sugar in type 1 diabetes
New care recommendations for children and young people with early-stage type 1
Guidelines on a new UK pathway have been published to shape the care of children and young people who have early-stage type 1 diabetes.
It aims to help prepare the NHS for a new era in type 1 diabetes – one where we can identify children at risk before symptoms appear, give families time to prepare for life with type 1, and prevent dangerous DKA.
Screening for type 1 autoantibodies is growing across the UK. Autoantibodies show the immune system is attacking insulin-making beta cells. They provide a crucial early warning sign months or years before symptoms of type 1 appear.
People with two or more autoantibodies have early-stage type 1 and are almost certain to develop the full-blown condition in their lifetime.
Research studies, like our ELSA study, offers screening for type 1 diabetes autoantibodies. And it’s becoming more common for people to be tested in the clinic. Either way, follow-up care in the NHS has lagged.
The new pathway hopes to help make sure type 1 diabetes autoantibody screening doesn’t end with a test result. It gives guidance to healthcare professionals on how to look after children and their families on their journey to the ‘full’ onset of type 1 diabetes – and help make sure early detection leads to better outcomes.
The pathway covers five key themes:
- How to confirm autoantibody test results;
- How to monitor children who have early-stage type 1;
- Knowing when to start children on insulin therapy;
- How to monitor children who test positive for only one type 1 autoantibody;
- How to evaluate how well the pathway is working.
There are also new support materials for parents of children with autoantibodies, to help them understand what the results mean and what to expect.
The paper’s lead researcher, Dr Rachel Besser, is also leading the UK Islet Autoantibody Registry, with our funding. The Registry forms a key part of the new care pathway, by enabling confirmation of autoantibody results and monitoring of everyone in the UK who tests positive.
The pathway will evolve in future as fresh evidence-based research findings in early-stage type 1 diabetes emerge.
Hidden genetic risk could delay type 2 diabetes diagnosis for Black and South Asian men
A study led by researchers at the University of Exeter and Queen Mary University of London has found that a common but often undiagnosed genetic condition, known as G6PD deficiency, may be delaying type 2 diabetes diagnoses and increasing the risk of serious complications for thousands of Black and South Asian men in the UK.
People from Black and South Asian communities are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and face barriers to timely diagnosis and care. This research helps to uncover a factor contributing to these inequities.
G6PD deficiency makes red blood cells more fragile. While it doesn’t cause diabetes, it can interfere with the accuracy of the HbA1c test, which is widely used to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes. The deficiency can make HbA1c readings appear lower than they actually are, meaning type 2 may go undetected or untreated.
The research team analysed genetic and health data from more than 500,000 people taking part in the Genes & Health study and the UK Biobank.
They found that 1 in 7 Black men and 1 in 63 South Asian men carry the genetic variant linked to G6PD deficiency. Men with the variant were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes an average of 4 years later than those without it. Yet fewer than 1 in 50 had been diagnosed at all.
The findings highlight that standard tests for type 2 diabetes may not perform equally well across different ethnic groups. And it’s crucial to develop more tailored approaches that take factors such as G6PD deficiency into account to reduce health inequity.
Anna Morris, Assistant Director of Research and Co-lead for Tackling Inequities at Diabetes UK, said:
“Black and South Asian people in the UK are twice as likely to be living with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes than White people and face worse health outcomes once diagnosed.
"These disparities are unacceptable and must be addressed to ensure equitable diabetes care for all. If our most common test to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes isn’t accurate for people of all ethnicities, it could seriously compound these problems and leave people without the care they deserve.
"Without the reliable tools they need, healthcare professionals risk missing or misdiagnosing type 2 diabetes.”
This study is published in Diabetes Care.
Physical activity can quickly lower high blood sugar in type 1 diabetes
Researchers in Birmingham reported that short bouts of physical activity can quickly lower high blood sugar in people with type 1 diabetes, and can be a powerful tool to support day-to-day management.
The team analysed 1,546 exercise sessions lasting 10–30 minutes in 363 adults and 119 young people aged 12–17, all with starting blood sugar levels above 10 mmol/L.
Each session was compared to a matched rest period when people had a similar starting blood sugar levels, recent trends, and amount of active insulin on board.
Researchers found that exercise was eight times more effective than rest at lowering blood sugar levels. On average, a 23-minute session reduced glucose by 2.2 mmol/L, compared with just 0.3 mmol/L during matched rest periods. The effect was consistent across ages, activity types, and intensities, with a risk of hypo less than 2%.
The findings, published in Diabetic Medicine, provide real-world evidence that short, targeted bouts of exercise can directly bring down high blood sugar levels in type 1 diabetes, when combined with insulin therapy.
Lead author John Pemberton said:
“For the first time, we can show that physical activity alone, under free-living conditions, is a primary driver of glucose lowering. It demonstrates that exercise can be used as a fast, safe, non-insulin-based tool to bring high glucose back into target range.”
Based on these findings, the researchers propose a “20 by 2 Rule”: 20 minutes of activity can lower blood sugar by roughly 2 mmol/L, when recent insulin is on board. They believe with the help of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), this rule could offer a practical, insulin-freeway for people with type 1 diabetes to manage the condition.
