Type 2 diabetes detected in children as young as 14, says Dzulkefly

 Type 2 diabetes, commonly associated with adults, is now being detected in children as young as 14, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said today.

Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, Dzulkefly said the trend was worrying and reflected a rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among younger people, including obesity, hypertension and high blood sugar levels.

He said data from the National Health Screening Initiative (NHSI) showed that NCDs and their risk factors were increasingly affecting younger people.

Dzulkefly said the NHSI’s findings last year also showed that many young people were unaware they were at risk of developing NCDs, highlighting the need for earlier detection and more aggressive health intervention.

Of the 347,813 individuals between 18 and 30 years of age who were screened, 341,257, or 98.1%, had no history of NCDs and were unaware they were at risk, he said.

“Of that number, 11,751 individuals, or 3.4%, were found to have high blood glucose levels, while more than 9,000 were diagnosed with diabetes and 30,170 were found to have high blood pressure,” he said.

Dzulkefly was responding to a question from Richard Rapu (GPS-Betong) on the latest statistics on NCDs, particularly diabetes and hypertension among individuals under the age of 30.