Sun Life: 41% of adults show unhealthy blood glucose

Sun Life Malaysia recently announced the findings of its 2022 Brighter Health Screening Programme, which showed that 41% of the 6,892 screened, equating to 2 in 5 Malaysians aged 18 years and older, had elevated blood glucose readings and may be at risk for Type 2 diabetes.

According to the insurance company, the findings also showed that over 40% of adults over age 40 screened had high blood glucose, compared to around 15% for 18 to 30-year-olds.

“Sun Life Malaysia is committed to empowering Malaysians to lead healthier lives. We believe that prevention is always better than cure, and we work collaboratively with our partners and stakeholders to educate and share relevant knowledge, particularly among underserved communities, to bridge the awareness gap,” said Sun Life Malaysia’s chief executive officer and president/country manager Raymond Lew.

He added: “2022 marks the fourth year since we embarked on the programme. The findings reaffirm our mission – we have to continue our efforts to raise awareness about diabetes, improve understanding of the risk factors and promote early detection given the high prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes in Malaysia.”

Lew said the higher-than-normal blood glucose readings in over 40% of adults aged 40 and above revealed the hard truth about the relationship between diabetes risk and age.

“This signals a need for individuals aged 40 and above to take preventive measures by regularly monitoring their blood glucose levels to detect the risks of developing diabetes and prevent diabetes from the onset.”

He said the findings also revealed a higher percentage of younger adults aged 18-30 had elevated blood glucose levels which could imply a worrying trend that the epidemic is putting more young people at risk.

“It is important to ramp up efforts to educate Malaysian youth that the risks of developing diabetes are influenced by lifestyle factors, such as being overweight, not exercising or having high blood pressure,” he added.

The screening programme also revealed the following insights:

• 1 in 5 people (28%) with high blood glucose is undiagnosed for diabetes, indicating a lack of awareness and risk for prediabetes.
• 75% of diagnosed diabetes patients had elevated blood glucose, indicating poor diabetes management.
• 2 in 5 people (37%) with high blood glucose had an income below RM4000 per month (B40 household group).
• 72% of the total 6,892 screened reported no diagnosis or doctor confirmation of diabetes.

The 2022 Brighter Health Programme is a nationwide blood glucose screening community outreach initiative by Sun Life Malaysia through partnerships with Walnut Wellness, Roche Malaysia, AM PM Pharmacy, Health Lane Family Pharmacy and MOG Eyewear (MOG) to offer complimentary blood glucose screenings across 204 participating pharmacies nationwide.

The programme conducted 6,892 screenings for participants aged 18 to 70 from Aug 22 to Nov 30, 2022.