KUALA LUMPUR: Over 80% of young Malaysians aged 18 to 29 who have diabetes or high blood pressure are unaware of their condition, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad warned Parliament.
Citing the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023, Dr Dzulkefly told the Dewan Rakyat that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasingly striking the nation’s youth, often remaining silent until severe complications set in.
"Both conditions are already occurring among young people and often go unnoticed because they usually show no symptoms in the early stages," he said during Question Time on Tuesday (Oct 6) in response to Parit Buntar MP Mohd Misbahul Munir Masduki.
In the 18–29 age bracket, an estimated 192,464 people have diabetes while 339,853 live with hypertension, with over eight out of 10 cases remaining undiagnosed. The trend continues into the 30–39 demographic, affecting 378,508 individuals with diabetes (60% undiagnosed) and 938,865 with hypertension (over 70% undiagnosed).
Declaring that Malaysia is facing an "NCD pandemic," Dr Dzulkefly noted that ischaemic heart disease remains the country's top killer, claiming 17,421 lives in 2024 alone.
To combat this, the Health Ministry has expanded early detection efforts through the National Health Screening Initiative (NHSI), funded with RM10mil annually under Agenda Nasional Malaysia Sihat. Since its 2022 launch, the program has screened over 2.65 million individuals under 40, identifying nearly 340,000 cases of high blood pressure and 176,000 cases of high blood glucose.
Additionally, the PeKa B40 scheme has screened more than 2.04 million low-income citizens aged 40 and above across 4,455 private panel clinics since 2019.
Beyond screening, the government is tackling root causes through targeted public health policy, including sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, community calorie campaigns, and salt-reduction initiatives. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, every RM1 invested in national salt reduction yields an estimated RM60 return over 15 years.
"NCDs no longer recognise age, race, or social standing. We must prevent earlier, detect earlier, and treat earlier," Dr Dzulkefly stressed.
