Kuala lumpur: The Institute for Public Health is conducting the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2025 from July 22 to September 21, with a focus on the health of Malaysians aged 60 and above, as announced by Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni. The survey aims to evaluate the health status of senior citizens in Malaysia, aligning with the 'ageing well' concept and targeting approximately 16,700 randomly selected households nationwide.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, NHMS 2025 will encompass three main domains: mental health, physical health, and social well-being. The mental health domain will include cognitive, dementia, and geriatric depression screenings. The physical domain will assess daily activities, instrumental activities of daily living, and chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol levels, sarcopenia, and frailty. The social domain will explore informal caregiver burden, social support, quality of life, and ageing well.

A total of 43 teams have been mobilized to gather data through various methods, including face-to-face interviews, self-administered questionnaires, and clinical assessments involving approximately 5,000 respondents. The clinical assessments will measure blood pressure, conduct finger-prick blood sampling for cholesterol and blood sugar screening, and evaluate sarcopenia through handgrip strength, muscle mass percentage, and the 30-second chair stand test.

The findings from NHMS 2025 are anticipated to offer comprehensive insights into the health status of the elderly population in Malaysia. This data will enable the Ministry of Health (MOH) to evaluate and refine priority policies and national health program strategies. Lukanisman also urged collaboration among government agencies, healthcare professionals, researchers, and community leaders to ensure that the elderly population can lead healthy, meaningful, and productive lives.