PETALING JAYA: Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham (pix) hailed the publication of the 6th edition of the Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) for the Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) as a way to improve diabetes care in the country.
The publication was jointly produced by a team of 69 experts under the auspices of the Malaysian Endocrine and Metabolic Society (MEMS), Ministry of Health, Academy of Medicine Malaysia, Diabetes Malaysia, and the Family Medicine Specialistsâ Association of Malaysia.
It includes advances that have been incorporated into recommendations of the development of innovative treatments, technologies, and renewed emphasis on lifestyle interventions over the last five years which brings new hope of effectively managing this serious chronic disease and its life-threatening complications.
âThe use of new technologies and findings for landmark trials have changed the way Type 2 diabetes is treated, and this is a united front against diabetes. It is vital to control diabetes and limit its complications with a holistic approach and active patient participation, supported by appropriate diabetes education and lifestyle modification,â he said in a special address conducted virtually via Zoom.
âThere is greater emphasis to use mobile apps and other technological advances to improve diabetes self-management, and this is even greater now in the context of the new norm.â
Malaysian Endocrine and Metabolic Society president Prof Dr Chan Siew Pheng highlighted what the new CPG brings to diabetes care.
âRecent research has shown that losing 7-10% of body weight with diet and lifestyle can prevent pre-diabetic people from becoming diabetic,â she said.
âIn addition, people diagnosed with T2DM in less than three years can reverse their diabetes by losing 15% of their body weight and keeping it off.â
Diabetes is one of the main underlying health factors that have contributed to the Covid-19 death toll in the country.
