Women perform non-communicable diseases screening more than men – Health Minister

KUALA LUMPUR - Women in the nation are more likely to undergo health screening for non-communicable diseases (NCD) than men.

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the total number of women voluntarily undergoing NCD screening at health facilities were 755,689 individuals, while men were at 533,772 within the period of July 2022 and June 2023.

"The government introduced the National Health Screening Initiative (NHSI) for Malaysians to undergo health screenings at government facilities.

"This initiative was implemented since July last year to aid the public to gain treatments relating to NCD, which had a high death rate among women more than men,” she said in the 56th Malaysia-Singapore Health Congress in conjunction with the 2023 MyWomen International Congress at the Royale Chulan Hotel on Friday.

Dr Zaliha said of the total, Selangor had the highest health screening rates while Penang had the lowest.

"Selangor had the highest rate at 61.9 per cent while Penang had the lowest at 55.5 per cent between July 2022 and June 2023,” she said.