80L screened for lifestyle diseases in Kerala, 20% at risk of serious ailments: Health minister

Twenty per cent of the 80 lakh people in Kerala screened for lifestyle diseases has hypertension or diabetes, said state health minister Veena George.

The screening was carried out across the state, as part of the government’s campaign to control lifestyle diseases by detecting and treating them early.

According to the health minister, early detection and treatment of lifestyle diseases and cancer, can help to treat and cure the diseases without complications. Of the close to 80 lakh people screened, around 20 per cent were found to be at risk of serious illnesses, the minister said in a release.

Besides that, more than 5 lakh people were referred for suspected cancer, she said.

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Furthermore, the minister said that ₹10 crore was set aside in the budget for development of the country’s only scheme for lifestyle disease control and related activities. The campaign and the screening launched by the state to prevent lifestyle diseases has become a role model in the country in the field of health.

An app was also developed with the help of eHealth for screening of people above 30 years of age by going to their homes, she added.

Out of a total of 79,41,962 people screened so far, 19.97 per cent (15,86,661) fell under the risk factor group for any serious disease, 11.02 per cent (8,75,236) had hypertension, 8.88 per cent (7,05,475) diabetes and 3.88 per cent (3,08,825) were suspected to have both, the minister said in the release.

A cancer screening dashboard was also developed as part of the cancer control strategy and through this 6.49 percent (5,15,938) have been referred for suspected cancer, she said. Free diagnosis and treatment is provided to those who need it, she added.