Textbook of Diabetes, 6th Edition (2024)

 

Featured image for Textbook of Diabetes, 6th Edition, edited by Richard I.G. Holt and Allan Flyvbjerg. The graphic shows a medical textbook cover with diabetes-related imagery, including a glucose meter, pancreas, and retinal blood vessels, alongside the book title and Wiley branding.

What is the Textbook of Diabetes, 6th Edition?

Textbook of Diabetes, 6th Edition, is a comprehensive reference on diabetes mellitus edited by Richard I.G. Holt and Allan Flyvbjerg. Published in 2024, it covers diabetes biology, diagnosis, management, complications, psychosocial care, special populations, healthcare delivery, and emerging therapies for healthcare professionals and trainees.

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus is a complex field that extends well beyond glucose measurement and pharmacological treatment. Understanding diabetes requires knowledge of physiology, genetics, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical management, complications, psychosocial factors, special populations, and healthcare delivery. 

The Textbook of Diabetes, 6th Edition, approaches the specialty from this broad perspective, bringing these areas together in a single comprehensive reference.

Edited by Richard I.G. Holt and Allan Flyvbjerg, the sixth edition was first published in 2024 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The book is organized into 13 major parts and contains 79 chapters, followed by an index. 

Its scope ranges from the history and classification of diabetes through glucose metabolism, diabetes pathogenesis, treatment, microvascular and macrovascular complications, psychosocial care, diabetes in special groups, organization of care, and future therapeutic directions.

The editors explain that the sixth edition was developed during a period of substantial progress in understanding diabetes and its treatment. They specifically highlight the need for clinically relevant and current information for both academic and practicing diabetes healthcare professionals.

This makes the book particularly relevant to clinicians and trainees who want a broad understanding of diabetes rather than a narrowly focused treatment manual. Medical students, residents, internists, endocrinology trainees, diabetes specialists, nurses, pharmacists, educators, and researchers can use different sections according to their learning or clinical needs.

Book overview

Detail

Information

Full title

Textbook of Diabetes

Edition

Sixth Edition

Editors

Richard I.G. Holt and Allan Flyvbjerg

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons Ltd / Wiley-Blackwell

Publication year

2024

Specialty

Diabetes mellitus, endocrinology and metabolic medicine

Format information listed

Hardback, PDF, and EPUB editions

Chapters

79

Major sections

13 parts

References and index

Included

The cataloguing information identifies the work as the sixth edition, published in Hoboken by Wiley-Blackwell in 2024, with bibliographical references and an index.

Richard I.G. Holt is identified as a professor in diabetes & endocrinology at the University of Southampton and an honorary consultant physician at University Hospital Southampton. Allan Flyvbjerg is identified as a professor of clinical endocrinology at the University of Copenhagen and former CEO of Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen.

The book also has a large international contributor group. The contributor affiliations represented in the book include universities, hospitals, diabetes centers, research institutions, and medical schools across multiple countries.

WHAT THIS BOOK COVERS

One of the defining characteristics of the sixth edition is its breadth. Rather than concentrating solely on diagnosis and glucose-lowering therapy, the book follows diabetes from its historical and biological foundations through clinical care, complications, psychosocial considerations, healthcare organization, and emerging treatments.

1. Diabetes in its historical and social context

The opening section provides context for understanding diabetes as a disease and as a global health problem. It includes the history of diabetes mellitus, classification and diagnosis, the global burden of diabetes, and the epidemiology of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

This beginning is useful because it establishes the clinical subject within its historical and population-level context before moving into physiology and pathogenesis.

2. Normal physiology

The second part addresses the physiological foundations required to understand diabetes. Topics include glucose metabolism, pancreatic islet function and insulin secretion, glucagon, insulin action, central control of glucose homeostasis, and mechanisms related to body-weight regulation.

For students and trainees, this section provides a bridge between basic science and clinical diabetes. Understanding normal glucose regulation is essential for interpreting what changes when diabetes develops.

3. Pathogenesis of diabetes

The third part moves from normal physiology to disease mechanisms. It covers the genetics of diabetes and obesity, autoimmune type 1 diabetes, atypical type 1 diabetes phenotypes, β-cell defects, insulin resistance, obesity, and the microbiome.

This organization allows readers to connect metabolic physiology with the mechanisms underlying different diabetes phenotypes.

4. Other types of diabetes

Diabetes is not limited to the common type 1 and type 2 categories. The book includes dedicated chapters on monogenic diabetes, drug-induced diabetes, diabetes associated with hypersecreting endocrine disorders, pancreatic disease and diabetes, and clinical presentations of diabetes.

This is particularly relevant for clinicians who encounter patients whose presentation does not fit straightforward type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

5. Managing the person with diabetes

The fifth part broadens the focus from disease mechanisms to patient-centered diabetes care. It addresses the aims of diabetes care, education and empowerment, dietary management, physical activity, monitoring, biomarkers, and precision medicine.

The inclusion of education, lifestyle, monitoring, and precision medicine reflects the multifaceted nature of contemporary diabetes management.

6. Treatment of diabetes

Treatment receives a substantial dedicated section. It includes insulin treatment, new glucose-monitoring technologies, new approaches to insulin administration, whole-pancreas and islet-cell transplantation, oral glucose-lowering agents, non-insulin parenteral therapies, type 2 diabetes treatments in clinical practice, weight management and metabolic surgery, inpatient treatment, hypoglycemia, and acute metabolic complications.

The editors specifically note that diabetes technology prompted separate chapters covering glucose monitoring and insulin delivery. They also moved transplantation from the future-treatment section into current management, reflecting its place within the structure of the sixth edition.

7. Microvascular complications

The book devotes a complete section to microvascular complications. It covers their pathogenesis as well as diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, and diabetic neuropathy.

This provides an important framework for understanding the major organ complications associated with chronic diabetes.

8. Macrovascular complications

The macrovascular section addresses the pathogenesis of cardiovascular complications and includes hypertension, dyslipidemia, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease.

The sixth edition specifically adds a chapter on heart failure. The editors connect the increased prominence of this topic with cardiovascular outcome trials involving sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors.

9. Other complications of diabetes

The scope becomes even broader in the ninth part. Topics include diabetic foot problems, sexual function, gastrointestinal manifestations, oral health, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, skin disease, bone and rheumatic disorders, diabetes and cancer, infections, and sleep.

The editors specifically identify oral health and sleep as additions to the complications covered in this edition.

10. Psychosocial aspects

Diabetes care also has behavioral, cognitive, psychological, and social dimensions. The tenth part includes psychosocial and behavioral aspects, cognitive function, mental disorders, social aspects, and social determinants of diabetes.

This is an important feature for healthcare professionals because it places diabetes management within the wider circumstances affecting people living with the condition.

11. Diabetes in special groups

The eleventh section considers populations in which diabetes requires particular consideration. It includes ethnic, cultural, and religious aspects of management; diabetes in childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood; pregnancy; old age; and diabetes at the end of life.

The editors also emphasize the inclusion of ethnicity, culture, religion, and social determinants within the revised structure.

12. Delivery and organization of diabetes care

The book does not stop at individual clinical management. It also examines healthcare systems and models of diabetes care.

The final clinical-care section includes the role of multidisciplinary teams across primary and secondary care and models of diabetes care in low- and middle-income countries.

The multidisciplinary approach is emphasized within the book because diabetes affects multiple organ systems and involves complex care requirements. The relevant chapter discusses collaboration across primary and specialist care and the role of multidisciplinary teams in diabetes management.

13. Future directions

The final section looks beyond established clinical practice. It includes immunotherapies for type 1 diabetes, stem-cell therapy, gene therapy, and future drug treatments for type 2 diabetes.

The chapter on future drug treatments for type 2 diabetes examines emerging approaches ranging from preclinical concepts to agents in clinical development.

Key Features

  • Comprehensive diabetes coverage: The book spans basic science, diagnosis, management, complications, psychosocial care, special populations, healthcare delivery, and future therapies.
  • 79 chapters organized into 13 parts, providing a structured progression through the subject.
  • Strong integration of basic and clinical science, moving from glucose physiology and pathogenesis into patient management.
  • Dedicated treatment coverage, including insulin, oral glucose-lowering agents, non-insulin therapies, technology, transplantation, and metabolic surgery.
  • Broad complications coverage, including microvascular, macrovascular, foot, gastrointestinal, hepatic, dermatological, neurological, sexual, oral, infectious, sleep, bone, and cancer-related topics.
  • Psychosocial and social dimensions of diabetes, including cognitive function, mental disorders, social determinants, ethnicity, culture, and religion.
  • Contemporary diabetes technology, with separate chapters for glucose monitoring and insulin administration technologies.
  • Future-oriented content, including immunotherapy, stem-cell therapy, gene therapy, and emerging type 2 diabetes treatments.
  • International perspective, reflected in the contributors and dedicated discussion of diabetes care in low- and middle-income countries.

Who Should Read This Book

Medical students

Medical students can use the book selectively to develop a structured understanding of diabetes. The physiology and pathogenesis sections are particularly relevant when learning the mechanisms underlying insulin secretion, insulin action, glucose homeostasis, and different forms of diabetes.

Residents

Residents in internal medicine and related specialties can benefit from the clinical sections covering diagnosis, treatment, acute metabolic complications, inpatient care, and chronic complications.

Specialists

Endocrinologists, diabetologists, and clinicians with a specialist interest in metabolic medicine may find the breadth of the book useful for reviewing areas outside their immediate clinical focus. Its coverage extends into cardiovascular disease, nephrology, neurology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, hepatology, dermatology, reproductive medicine, psychiatry, and other areas affected by diabetes.

Nurses

The book's coverage of diabetes education, patient empowerment, monitoring, psychosocial issues, multidisciplinary care, and complications makes relevant sections useful for diabetes specialist nurses and other nursing professionals.

Pharmacists

Pharmacists can identify substantial material relevant to glucose-lowering pharmacotherapy, insulin, non-insulin parenteral therapies, drug-induced diabetes, monitoring, and the broader management of people with diabetes.

Researchers

Researchers may benefit from the book's coverage of diabetes genetics, pathogenesis, biomarkers, precision medicine, microbiome research, immunotherapy, stem-cell therapy, gene therapy, and future drug development.

Exam candidates

The book is a broad reference rather than a narrowly designed question bank. Therefore, it may be particularly useful as a comprehensive background text for candidates who need to understand concepts across diabetes and endocrinology. 

It should not, however, be characterized as an examination-specific review book because that purpose is not stated in the available material.

Why This Book is Useful

Clinical relevance

The sixth edition is structured around the full spectrum of diabetes care. It progresses from classification and pathogenesis to treatment and complications, then extends into psychosocial care, special populations, and healthcare organization.

This makes it possible to approach the book according to a clinical question rather than necessarily reading it sequentially.

The editors themselves state that readers can either dip into individual sections or read the book from cover to cover.

Evidence-informed academic content

The book contains bibliographical references and an index, and its chapters are written by numerous academic and clinical contributors.

The chapters also contain extensive references, supporting their use as a detailed academic reference.

Practical applications

The treatment section addresses areas directly relevant to clinical practice, including insulin, glucose monitoring, insulin delivery technologies, glucose-lowering medications, hypoglycemia, acute metabolic complications, inpatient treatment, and type 2 diabetes management.

Board and postgraduate examination usefulness

The book provides extensive background knowledge that can support postgraduate study, especially for candidates who need a deeper conceptual understanding of diabetes. However, the book is not presented by its editors as a dedicated board-review resource, so readers preparing for a specific examination will still need examination-focused materials.

Learning efficiency

Its 13-part structure allows targeted reading. A learner reviewing diabetic nephropathy can move directly to the relevant complications section, while someone studying diabetes pharmacotherapy can concentrate on the dedicated treatment chapters. Researchers interested in emerging therapies can move directly to the final future-directions section.

Table of Contents Overview

The sixth edition is divided into the following 13 parts:

  1. Diabetes in its Historical and Social Context
  2. Normal Physiology
  3. Pathogenesis of Diabetes
  4. Other Types of Diabetes
  5. Managing the Person with Diabetes
  6. Treatment of Diabetes
  7. Microvascular Complications in Diabetes
  8. Macrovascular Complications in Diabetes
  9. Other Complications of Diabetes
  10. Psychosocial Aspects of Diabetes
  11. Diabetes in Special Groups
  12. Delivery and Organization of Diabetes Care
  13. Future Directions

The complete contents list extends from Chapter 1, The History of Diabetes Mellitus, through Chapter 79, Future Drug Treatments for Type 2 Diabetes, followed by the index.

Strengths of The Book

The major academic strength of Textbook of Diabetes, 6th Edition, is its unusually broad coverage of diabetes as a multidisciplinary medical specialty.

First, it connects basic science with clinical medicine. The progression from glucose metabolism, insulin secretion, glucagon, insulin action, and glucose homeostasis to diabetes pathogenesis provides a logical scientific foundation.

Second, the book gives substantial attention to contemporary clinical management. Its treatment section encompasses pharmacological therapy, insulin, diabetes technologies, transplantation, metabolic surgery, inpatient care, hypoglycemia, and acute metabolic complications.

Third, it recognizes that diabetes is multisystemic and multidisciplinary. Cardiovascular, renal, neurological, ophthalmological, gastrointestinal, hepatic, dermatological, sexual, infectious, oral, musculoskeletal, and sleep-related issues are represented.

Fourth, the sixth edition expands attention to precision medicine, diabetes technology, heart failure, oral health, sleep, social determinants, and diabetes care in low- and middle-income countries. These additions are explicitly described by the editors in the preface.

Finally, the book has a strong forward-looking component, covering immunotherapy, stem-cell therapy, gene therapy, and future pharmacological approaches.

Limitations

The principal limitation evident from the structure is also one of its strengths: breadth comes at the expense of being a quick-review text.

With 79 chapters across 13 major parts, the book is designed as a comprehensive reference rather than a concise pocket handbook. Readers seeking rapid revision for an examination may find a dedicated review book or question bank more efficient.

The book also contains material ranging from fundamental physiology to emerging therapies. Consequently, not every chapter will have equal immediate relevance to an individual clinician.

Comparison With Similar Books

The Textbook of Diabetes is structured as a large, comprehensive reference, covering the scientific foundations of diabetes alongside diagnosis, treatment, complications, psychosocial medicine, special populations, healthcare delivery, and future therapies.

Readers looking for a focused examination review, a concise clinical handbook, or a medication-specific reference may therefore require a different type of resource. Conversely, readers seeking broad coverage of diabetes across basic science, clinical medicine, complications, and emerging research will find the sixth edition's structure particularly relevant.


Textbook of Diabetes, 6th Edition


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FAQs

What is the Textbook of Diabetes, Sixth Edition?

Textbook of Diabetes, 6th Edition, is a comprehensive reference on diabetes mellitus edited by Richard I.G. Holt and Allan Flyvbjerg and published by John Wiley & Sons in 2024. It contains 79 chapters organized into 13 major parts.

Who edited the sixth edition of Textbook of Diabetes?

The sixth edition is edited by Richard I.G. Holt and Allan Flyvbjerg. Holt is identified as a professor in diabetes & endocrinology at the University of Southampton, while Flyvbjerg is identified as a professor of clinical endocrinology at the University of Copenhagen.

What topics are covered in the Textbook of Diabetes, 6th Edition?

The book covers diabetes history and epidemiology, physiology, pathogenesis, different types of diabetes, clinical management, pharmacological treatment, diabetes technology, transplantation, acute complications, microvascular and macrovascular complications, psychosocial issues, special populations, healthcare delivery, and future therapies.

Does the sixth edition cover diabetes complications?

Yes. Dedicated sections cover microvascular complications, macrovascular complications, and other complications. Topics include retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, cardiovascular disease, diabetic foot problems, sexual dysfunction, gastrointestinal manifestations, oral health, fatty liver disease, skin disease, cancer, infections, and sleep.

Does the book cover diabetes technology?

Yes. The treatment section contains separate chapters on new technologies for glucose monitoring and new technologies for insulin administration. The editors specifically identify diabetes technology as an area that developed rapidly enough to warrant separate chapters in the sixth edition.

Is the textbook of diabetes useful for medical students?

Yes, particularly for students who want a comprehensive understanding of diabetes rather than a short revision guide. The physiology, pathogenesis, classification, clinical presentation, management, and complications chapters provide a broad educational framework. The book is extensive, however, so students may benefit from selective reading according to their curriculum.

Is the Textbook of Diabetes, 6th Edition, useful for residents and practicing clinicians?

The book is explicitly intended to provide accurate and clinically relevant information to academic and practicing diabetes healthcare professionals. Its clinical sections cover diagnosis, treatment, complications, acute metabolic problems, inpatient care, and multidisciplinary diabetes management.

Does the sixth edition discuss future diabetes treatments?

Yes. Its final section includes chapters on immunotherapies for type 1 diabetes, stem-cell therapy, gene therapy, and future drug treatments for type 2 diabetes.

Conclusion

Textbook of Diabetes, 6th Edition, is a broad and academically substantial reference for understanding diabetes mellitus across its biological, clinical, psychological, social, and healthcare-system dimensions.

Its greatest educational value lies in the way it connects normal physiology and disease mechanisms with clinical management and complications

The sixth edition also incorporates areas that the editors identify as important developments, including precision medicine, diabetes technologies, transplantation, heart failure, oral health, sleep, social determinants, and diabetes care in low- and middle-income countries.

For medical students and residents, the book can serve as a detailed foundation for understanding diabetes. For practicing clinicians and specialists, its broad chapter structure allows targeted consultation across different aspects of diabetes care. 

Researchers and academically oriented readers may also find value in its coverage of pathogenesis, genetics, biomarkers, precision medicine, and emerging therapies.

It is not a short revision manual, and its extensive scope means that readers preparing for examinations may still need concise examination-focused resources. However, for readers looking for a comprehensive textbook of diabetes covering the disease from basic physiology to future therapeutic directions, the sixth edition provides a substantial and wide-ranging reference.

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