MOH study shows main causes of sickness are diseases that
could be prevented early on
Straits Times, The
(Singapore)
Home, Pg H1
December 3, 2007
Author: Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent
IF YOU needed another reason to lead a healthy lifestyle, here it
is: A study shows that Singaporeans may be living longer now, but
they are also sick for more years than people in some other
countries.
The main culprits are heart disease and stroke, cancer, diabetes
and even mental illness.
Now, the average Singapore woman should live to 81.8, but she will
spend eight of those years ill or disabled. Men too will spend
eight of their 78 years in poor health.
So while Singapore does well on life expectancy charts, a different
picture emerges when good health is tracked.
The Ministry of Health study confirmed that a lot of suffering and
premature deaths come from diseases that could be prevented - such
as heart attacks, stroke and diabetes. Some cancers too could be
caught early.
The prevalence of such diseases also suggests that more should be
done to tell people what they can do to save themselves from
becoming ill, said Dr Lam Pin Min, a member of the Government
Parliamentary Committee for Health.
He called for more public education on how these ailments can be
prevented, and screening to catch problems like diabetes and cancer
early.
He added: 'With early detection of diseases, prompt medical
treatment can hopefully minimise illness and medical
complications.'
But health authorities can only do so much, argued unionist and
Health GPC head Madam Halimah Yacob. People must take ownership of
their health if they want to keep such illnesses at bay.
Her advice: 'Go for regular screening, eat more vegetables, less
salt and do more exercise. That could cut the number of years you
suffer from ill health.'
Dr Derrick Heng, deputy director of the Ministry of Health's
non-communicable diseases branch said the study will guide the
authorities on how to spend health resources.
But though it 'shines the torch' on diseases that cause the most
suffering, the ministry will have to see which actually benefit
from preventive measures.
The study will be repeated every three years, to track if the main
causes of disability change, or are reduced, as the ministry puts
in more effort to tackle them.
A surprising finding was how mental disorders count as much as
diabetes and stroke for the wasted years. Mental health is getting
a boost as the ministry has committed $80 million over the next
five years to improving it.
Zooming in on problem areas could help Singapore catch up with
countries that fare best - such as Japan, the top country in the
world for long, healthy lives.
Japanese women live an average of 77.7 years in good health,
compared to only 71.3 years for women here. Japanese men have 72.3
years of good health, compared to 68.8 years for Singapore
men.
The ministry has already made the treatment and prevention of
chronic disease a priority. People can now use money previously
reserved for hospitalisation to treat diabetes, high cholesterol,
high blood pressure and stroke.
The intention is to treat those conditions early before
complications set in.
Unfortunately the programme has not been popular, said Madam
Halimah. She suggested expanding the use of Medisave money to
include an annual health check.
Men should also take a leaf from their wives.
Women all over the world live longer and healthier lives. The World
Health Organisation (WHO) attributes it to their smoking less,
exercising more and being more health conscious than men. As for
Japan, its explanation is the low rate of cardiovascular diseases
comes from their high-in-fish diets.
Madam Halimah said: 'We should also start eating more fish and less
meat.'
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Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited
