Kuala lumpur: About 15.6 percent of Malaysian adults, equivalent to roughly one in six individuals, are living with diabetes, and alarmingly, two in five of them are unaware of their condition. Health Ministry (MOH) Disease Control Division director Dr. Noraryana Hassan highlighted these findings in the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2023, pointing to a concerning trend that 84 percent of young Malaysian adults aged 18 to 29 are unaware they have diabetes.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Dr. Noraryana emphasized the urgent need for early diabetes screening to prevent complications and reduce the risk of premature death among younger individuals. "As more and more Malaysians are diagnosed with diabetes and its complications, we must continue to prevent the onset of diabetes and simultaneously retard or delay onset of its complications," she stated at the Diabetes Malaysia Conference 2025.
The text of her speech, read by the acting deputy director (Non-Communicable Diseases), Disease Control Division at the MOH, Dr. Nik Khairol Reza Md Yazin, detailed that Malaysians with diabetes are at the highest risk for complications such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, retinopathy, kidney disease, diabetic foot, nerve damage, malignancy, and diabetic emergencies.
Dr. Noraryana pointed out that these complications lead to a reduced quality of life as further organ damage can result in blindness, amputation, heart failure, stroke with full dependency, erectile dysfunction, and end-stage renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy.
Regarding the conference organized by Diabetes Malaysia, she expressed hope that it would provide new knowledge and empower stakeholders, especially at primary care levels. She noted that primary care plays a crucial role in screening for non-communicable diseases like diabetes, but the workload has shifted towards treating diabetes and its complications.
"Central to the care of diabetes are also empowerment of patients with diabetes. Self-care, such as dietary habits, exercise, foot care, self-monitoring of blood glucose, checking their feet, understanding medications, and compliance need to be continuously emphasized when managing them," she added.
With the theme "Personalised and Sustainable Diabetes Care: Building a Healthier Tomorrow," the conference, held from today until Sunday, aims to strengthen knowledge-sharing and cross-disciplinary collaboration in the fight against diabetes.