Health experts call for co-screening strategy as chronic diseases rise

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM) is urging the country to adopt a national co-screening strategy, warning that many Malaysians could be living with interconnected risks affecting their heart, kidneys and metabolism without realising it.

These conditions – collectively known as cardio-renal-metabolic (CRM) diseases – include cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and metabolic disorders such as diabetes. As they share many of the same risk factors, they often develop together, with each condition increasing the likelihood and severity of the others.

The organisation said findings from the NCSM-Boehringer Ingelheim Saring@Komuniti Project, conducted last year with support from the health ministry, underscored the need for a more integrated approach to screening and early intervention.

The project screened 5,000 people from underserved communities in the Klang Valley and found that almost all participants (97.8%) had at least one CRM risk factor.

More than four in 10 participants (41.3%) were obese, 28.8% were overweight, 34.5% had pre-diabetes and 35.1% had diabetes, pointing to a significant hidden burden of chronic disease.

Malaysia has seen a steady rise in these conditions over the past decade, NCSM noted. The prevalence of chronic kidney disease increased from 9.1% in 2011 to 15.5% in 2019, while the number of Malaysians requiring dialysis has more than tripled over the past two decades.

It said current healthcare approaches often treat heart, kidney and metabolic diseases separately, even though they are closely linked. As a result, opportunities to detect overlapping health risks early may be missed, while fragmented referral systems and inconsistent follow-up can delay treatment after abnormal screening results.

Identifying these conditions early gives patients a better opportunity to receive appropriate treatment before further complications develop, NCSM stressed.

To address this, the organisation is calling for integrated co-screening programmes to be expanded nationwide, with standardised CRM risk assessments incorporated into routine health checks and stronger referral and follow-up systems for patients.

“Malaysia has an opportunity to shift from managing individual diseases separately to addressing cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic health as a connected continuum,” said NCSM managing director Dr Murallitharan Munisamy.

“Early detection must be matched by coordinated follow-up and long-term care if we are to improve outcomes and reduce the growing burden of chronic disease.”