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World J Methodol. Dec 20, 2024; 14(4): 95210
Published online Dec 20, 2024. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v14.i4.95210
Remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus: Emerging concepts and proposed diagnostic criteria
Arkiath Veettil Raveendran
Arkiath Veettil Raveendran, Department of Internal Medicine, Former Assistant Professor of Medicine, Govt. Medical College, Kozhikode 673010, Kerala, India
Author contributions: Raveendran AV designed the manuscript, collected data, and wrote and revised the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author declares no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Arkiath Veettil Raveendran, FRCP, MBBS, MD, Doctor, Department of Internal Medicine, Former Assistant Professor of Medicine, Govt. Medical College, Specialist in Internal Medicine, Badr Al Samaa, Barka, Sultanate of Oman, Kozhikode 673010, Kerala, India. raveendranav@yahoo.co.in
Received: April 4, 2024
Revised: May 18, 2024
Accepted: June 13, 2024
Published online: December 20, 2024
Processing time: 112 Days and 22.9 Hours
Abstract

The remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a topic that has been widely discussed recently, and it gives new hope for people with T2DM. Achievement of normal blood glucose levels or levels below the diagnostic threshold for T2DM without pharmacotherapy among people with T2DM after metabolic surgery and carbohydrate or calorie-restricted diet paved the way for more enthusiastic research in this area. There is a lot of confusion regarding the appropriate terminology and definition of remission of T2DM. In this short review, we briefly analyzed the emerging concepts and proposed criteria for diagnosing remission of T2DM, which will be helpful for healthcare providers and people with T2DM.

Keywords: Remission; Reversal; Diabetes; Mitigation; Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Core Tip: There is a lot of confusion regarding the criteria for remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), as it is described differently by various professional bodies. Therefore, we proposed criteria that will be useful for healthcare professionals worldwide for diagnosing remission. Five components should be satisfied to diagnose remission of T2DM: Previous diagnosis of T2DM; blood sugar normalization or level below the diagnostic threshold for T2DM; withdrawal of pharmacotherapy or intervention and after its washout period; improvement in the pathophysiological mechanism; and the absence of any complications, comorbidities, or disease leading to a reduction of blood sugar or its normalization.