Singapore Tops Asia With Maximum Number of Young Patients With Type-2 Diabetes

A new study conducted by the Asian Diabetes Foundation found that Singapore has the highest proportion of younger patients with type-2 diabetes and 3 out of 10 Singaporeans had diabetes before reaching the age of 40.

The survey involved 319 patients from Singapore, China, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Vietnam and Taiwan. The duration of the survey was two years. The proportion with younger patients in Singapore is the highest among the nine countries involved in the survey.

According to the study, more than 498,000 patients have type-2 diabetes in Singapore. Type-2 diabetes makes up about 90 percent of cases of diabetes. While, type-1 and gestational diabetes makes about 10 percent of the diabetes cases.

Doctors said it was timely that the Health Sciences Authority approved a new drug called Janumet XR last year to help patients with type-2 diabetes maintain their blood sugar level.

Diabetic patients require multiple drugs for blood sugar control. The new drug combines two powerful diabetic agents, which will help lower the blood glucose level in one dose.

Dr Ben Ng, consultant physician, Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Medical Center,said, "Diabetes has no symptoms. So when you are young, you don't really think it's a problem because there are no symptoms, you don't experience pain and you are not aware of its complications."



Source: Medindia