50% of 3.6 mln Malaysian diabetics are women
KOTA KINABALU: Diabetes is the ninth leading cause of death in women, said Luyang Health Clinic head Dr Lee Wai Khew.
Dr Lee said women were usually perceived to be healthier than men and have higher life expectancy than their male counterparts, but that was not the case when women have diabetes.
She said the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015 showed that about 3.6 million Malaysians, or 17.5 per cent of the population, were diabetic. Of the 3.6 million diabetic Malaysians, 1.78 million or 50 per cent were women, she said.
In Sabah, Dr Lee said the prevalence of diabetes was at nine per cent in 2015, which has doubled over the past four years.
“We estimate that half of the diabetics in Malaysia are not diagnosed, so the prevalence could be 30 per cent nationwide,” she said in a press conference here yesterday.
Diabetes Malaysia Sabah State Branch and Luyang Health Clinic will be holding World Diabetes Day 2017 at Tzu Chi Education Centre, Karamunsing Complex on November 11, from 8am to 1pm.
The theme for the event is ‘Women and Diabetes: Our Right to a Healthy Future’.
Dr Lee said the World Diabetes Day this year emphasized on women as it was found that the age of diabetic patients was getting younger and some at their reproductive age.
“Younger people are getting diabetes nowadays, and women are also equally affected.
“Pregnant women have a higher risk of getting diabetes because of their lifestyle.”
In fact, she said two out of five pregnant women were found to have diabetes, known as Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM).
This is the reason all government clinics now screen all pregnant women for diabetes, she said.
Dr Lee cautioned that diabetes could cause problems for the mother and baby, with risk of the baby born with abnormalities.
As such, she stressed it was important for young mothers and people to screen for diabetes as the diabetic patients were 10 times more at risk of getting heart disease.
She said diabetes could be prevented by practising a healthy lifestyle and diet.
“Even for families with high risk of diabetes, you can delay from getting the disease by 10 years if you practise a healthy lifestyle.”
Dr Lee added that there were two types of diabetes, namely Type 1 which was usually diagnosed among children and teenagers whose pancreas were unable to produce insulin, whereas Type 2 was mainly developed later in life due to lifestyle.
She said the medical profession had seen Type 2 diabetes among children as young as 10 years old who were obese because of modern lifestyle.
“We have obesity programme for children at school, just like in Singapore.
“We need to tackle obesity to prevent diabetes as being overweight is a very big factor for the disease.”
Meanwhile, Consultant Pediatrician at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Professor Dr Kew Seih Teck said he had seen Type 1 diabetes on children aged less than two years old, who required insulin injections.
Dr Kew said he also had a 20year-old patient who was blind and suffered from bladder and multiple problems due to diabetes while another 16 year-old girl had passed away because of kidney failure.
“Diabetes should not be taken lightly. It is a serious problem,” he stressed.
On another note, Diabetes Malaysia Sabah State Branch chairman Tay Eong Beok said the annual World Diabetes Day 2017 aimed to remind the public of the seriousness of the disease.
World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by the International Diabetic Federation and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threats posed by diabetes. The event is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign reaching a global audience of over one billion people in more than 160 countries.
The World Diabetes Day 2017 in Kota Kinabalu on November 11 will be officiated by State Health Director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi. On that day, there will be a public forum on women and diabetes presented by Dr Maryem Sokhandan Fadakar, compilation of diabetes by Dr Ganesan Durairajah and diet and diabetes by Izzah Ismail from the Luyang Health Clinic.
There will also be free health screening on blood sugar, blood pressure, body mass index, blood cholesterol (limited to 100 people), eye screening, foot sensory screening, blood donation drive, aerobic exercise, dietary consultation and consultation by diabetes educators at the event. Admission is free.