Question

How did people know about diabetes mellitus?

Answer 1

Historically, people recognized diabetes mellitus through its characteristic clinical symptoms, primarily excessive urination, extreme unquenchable thirst, rapid weight loss, and general weakness. Ancient physicians diagnosed the disease by observing that the patient’s urine tasted sweet and attracted ants or flies due to the presence of excreted glucose. In modern clinical practice, doctors identify diabetes mellitus by testing elevated glucose concentrations in the blood and detecting the abnormal presence of sugar excreted in urine samples.