A TOTAL of 3,899,940 people or 18.3% of the adult population in Malaysia have diabetes, says Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.

       In a written parliamentary reply, she said statistics from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019 showed nine states recording a higher percentage of diabetic patients compared with the overall adult population.

       Negri Sembilan had the highest diabetic prevalence at 33.2% or 234,203 people, followed by Perlis (32.6%), Pahang (25.7%), Kedah (24.9%), Putrajaya (22.9%), Terengganu (20.5%), Johor (19.7%), Kelantan (19.5%), Penang (18.2%), Selangor and Kuala Lumpur (18% each), Perak (17.6%), Melaka (16.9%), Sarawak (13.1%) and Sabah (12.6%).

       Labuan had the lowest diabetic prevalence, at 9.8% or 7,992 people.

       Dr Zaliha was responding to Datuk Dr Alias Razak (PN-Kuala Nerus) who had asked about the breakdown of diabetic patients according to state in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

       Dr Alias also asked about the Health Ministry’s effectiveness in reducing the number of diabetic patients nationwide.

       To this, Dr Zaliha said various measures were carried out, including the National Strategic Plan for non-communicable diseases, health advocacy programmes, and health screenings.

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       The screenings were done via the National Health Screening Initiative (NHSI) carried out through health clinics, and other touchpoints such as the Madani Afiat programme.