While there are no exact numbers, health experts say they are seeing anecdotally more young diabetic patients like Ms Siti.
NKF’s CEO Madam Khor also noted how there has been an increase in those below age 45 requiring dialysis, making up 21.3 per cent of patients last year, up from 19 per cent in 2012.
She said that early detection and compliance to medication was important so that the disease could be managed, and to prevent the onset of kidney disease.
Public health expert Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia told CNA that diabetes was expected to be more of a burden to the healthcare system in the future.
Like the other health experts, she said that there were more youngsters who were diagnosed with non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
“Before, the recommended health screening was for those aged 40. But there might be a need to move this to the age of 30 because people are getting diabetic and hypertension at a much younger age,” she said.
Dr Sharifa said that the amount spent on treating diabetes – about 13 per cent of the Health Ministry’s budget – could have been better spent on other things.
“This figure is also just for diabetes and doesn’t include the other complications caused by diabetes such as kidney failure, CVD, and stroke. The effect of diabetes is manyfold, and all this cost is a burden to the government,” she said.
An Aug 2022 report on the direct health-care cost of NCDs by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the health and economic burden of NCDs can be expected to worsen over time.
“NCDs will continue to consume an increasing share of national health expenditure,” read the report which found that the total direct health-care costs of three selected NCD categories –diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer – were estimated at RM 9.65 billion in 2017.
This is why early diagnosis and treatment are important, said Dr Ikram, adding that high blood sugar levels can cause serious damage to the organs, which is even more taxing on the young.
“With people getting diabetes at a much younger age – during their late teens and early 20s – it means they must live with the disease for a much longer period of their life, resulting in more complications and a lower quality of life,” he added.
Dr S. Inthirani, chairman of Diabetes Malaysia Kuala Lumpur told CNA that for every diagnosed case of diabetes, another goes undiagnosed.
She added that there are many misconceptions about diabetes such as that it only affects older people, and that one would not get it if one didn’t consume much sugar.
“People must realise that it is beyond just sugar but the amount of carbs one consumes.
“Many youngsters are more exposed because many eat out late after midnight while watching football matches in 24-hour Mamak shops. They come back and then sleep. That is an issue,” said Dr Inthinrani, a former clinician at a government clinic.
As for testing, Dr Inthirani who has set up a peer support group for patients of the disease said that one should not just rely on a fasting blood glucose test to find out if they have diabetes.
“You cannot just do a fasting blood sugar test and be happy about it. You should also measure yourself after eating to get a more accurate result,” she said, adding that the HbA1c and oral glucose tolerance tests are also useful to test for the disease.
Source: CNA
