PUTRAJAYA: About 85.3% of Malaysia’s senior citizens are not ageing healthily, according to findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2025.
The NHMS, conducted nationwide by the Institute for Public Health (IKU) under the Health Ministry, provides key data on the health status of Malaysians. The 2025 edition marks the second assessment of older persons aged 60 and above, following its inaugural review in 2018.
According to the NHMS 2025, only 14.7% of senior citizens meet the criteria for healthy ageing, based on a survey of approximately 7,528 respondents.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad explained that “healthy ageing” is defined by five strict criteria: strong social support, absence of cognitive impairment such as dementia, freedom from depression, independence in daily activities, and either the absence of chronic diseases or well-controlled conditions.
“If only 14.7% are ageing healthily, the rest are battling chronic disease and frailty,” said Dzulkefly when launching the NHMS 2025 findings yesterday.
“Chronic diseases among seniors are increasing, with 39% having diabetes, 73% having hypertension and 76% having high cholesterol,” he added.
The Health Ministry further noted that 68% of seniors are living with at least two of these three chronic conditions, while 30% are affected by all three, describing the trend as concerning and requiring comprehensive intervention strategies.
While the survey recorded a decline in depression among older persons – from 11.2% in 2018 to 8% in 2025 – dementia showed a slight increase, rising to 9.8% in 2025 from 8.5% in 2018.
“This is closely linked to other factors, particularly non-communicable diseases that are not well controlled,” said Dzulkefly.
“Conditions such as poorly managed Type 2 diabetes and hypertension can lead to vascular complications, including multiple micro-infarcts in the brain, which may contribute to memory loss and dementia.
“If these conditions are not properly managed, we are concerned that dementia cases may rise as a result.
“To address this, particularly in managing dementia, we are strengthening and advancing our health policies through a more comprehensive approach.
“This includes the National Ageing Blueprint Malaysia and the Health Care for the Elderly Action Plan 2023-2030, as well as the National Dementia Action Plan 2023-2030.”
He also cautioned on what he described as the “silent killer” of physical decline among older adults.
“The survey found that 30.6% of our senior citizens are physically inactive.
“As a result, 45% are now experiencing sarcopenia or severe muscle loss, while another 60% are at risk of frailty or physical fragility.”
