A 40-year-old man has achieved the dubious honour of being the first person to develop fulminant type 1 diabetes after a leap off a high platform.

The man developed abdominal pain when he jumped from a 2m platform, according to the case study presented to the US Endocrine Society’s conference in New Orleans on Sunday.

The pain reduced slightly after 30 minutes but had worsened by the following day and was accompanied by a fever of 38.5°C, reported Dr Yaning Chen (PhD) from the Sixth Medical Centre of PLA General Hospital in Beijing, China.

The man was initially treated with antibiotics in a local hospital, but the pain continued to increase and was only relieved when he lay prone.