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SINGAPORE: Singaporeans aged between 40 and 49 this year will receive a letter from the Health Promotion Board (HPB), urging them to go for a health screening for various chronic diseases, in particular, diabetes.
The letter can be used to get a discount of up to half the cost of screenings at 728 clinics.
Currently, it costs S$8 for a blood test to screen for diabetes and lipid disorders and S$10 for pap smears for female patients. Those with letters can go to the 728 Chronic Disease Management Programme-registered GP Clinics to enjoy the discount.
They will also get their body mass index - a measure of whether their weight is appropriate for their height and blood pressure - checked.
People who live in three-room flats or smaller units will have S$8 waived, but they will still need to pay the GP's consultation charges.
Meanwhile, women aged 40 and above can also get screened for cervical cancer, and those aged 50 and above for breast cancer, at subsidised rates.
Patients who are found to be obese, diabetic or have other chronic diseases such as hypertension, will be referred to HPB's nurse educators, who will counsel them on ways to improve their lifestyles over three weekly sessions.
HPB is embarking on this campaign because diabetic symptoms are mild and usually not discovered until they reach a later stage.
For example, 62-year-old retiree Chia Soon Keng said he used to work long hours. When he was 34 years old, he realised that he easily got tired and was often thirsty. He knew he had to seek help when he started to itch all over his body.
Doctors told him that he had diabetes. That was 28 years ago and since then, Mr Chia has learnt to manage his condition.
He owns a glucose meter which has become a tool that does a lot more than monitor his glucose level. Mr Chia uses the device to determine the Glycemic Index or GI, which tells him how the different carbohydrates affect his sugar level.
Experts said not all carbohydrate foods are created equal and they behave quite differently in our bodies. The GI describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels.
Choosing low GI carbohydrates (the ones that produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels) is the secret to long term health, reducing our risk of heart disease and diabetes. It is also the key to sustainable weight loss.
Mr Chia said: "I use it to experiment. So I buy different types of whole wheat bread and I discovered that when I eat certain whole wheat bread, my sugar level is not that high. There is such a thing called Glycemic Index, where for certain bread, the GI, is very low.
"When the bread is eaten, it is changed to carbohydrate in a very gradual, slow level. If the GI is very high, then the carbohydrate changes very fast. And that's where your sugar level surges."
And like Mr Chia, doctors want more people to be aware of diabetes, especially for those who do not have the disease.
HPB will launch an integrated screening programme on June 7 to help Singaporeans better manage chronic diseases like diabetes in the long run.
This can be done by maintaining a healthy weight, going for regular check-ups, regular monitoring of blood glucose levels and complying with a care plan.
In fact, doctors said diabetes can be prevented.
Dr Sum Chee Fang, Director, Diabetes Centre, Alexandra Hospital, said: "Diabetes is often preceded by a state we call Impaired Glucose Tolerance - that is the state in between normal and full-blown diabetes.
"And these people certainly don't really have symptoms from their high sugars. And it will be good to uncover this group of people so that they have time to engage in healthy lifestyle practices and avoid getting into diabetes stage."
For more information about diabetes, you can log on to www.hpb.gov.sg/diabetes. - CNA/vm
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