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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DOH: Over 656,000 Filipinos have diabetes, many still undiagnosed

DOH: Over 656,000 Filipinos have diabetes, many still undiagnosed

Published Aug 8, 2025 04:25 pm  |  Updated Aug 11, 2025 04:28 pm
(MB FILE PHOTO/PIXABAY
(MB FILE PHOTO/PIXABAY
More than 656,000 Filipinos have diabetes, but many remain undiagnosed, the Department of Health (DOH) said, warning that the true figure could be much higher.
Based on the agency’s 2024 Field Health Services Information System (FHSIS), 656,115 individuals in the country have been confirmed to have diabetes, a chronic condition with life-threatening complications if left untreated.
“Marami pa rin ang hindi nakakaalam na sila ay may ganitong kondisyon (Many still don’t know they have this condition),” the DOH stated.
The health department advised the public to make regular consultations a habit to help monitor their health and allow for early treatment.

Diabetes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is a chronic metabolic disorder caused by insufficient insulin production by the pancreas or the body’s inability to use insulin effectively.

The global health body notes that type 2 diabetes, the most common form, usually develops in adults when the body becomes resistant to insulin or produces too little of it.

“Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin by itself,” it added.

WHO stated that diabetes is one of the four major noncommunicable diseases, and its prevalence worldwide has been rising steadily in recent years.

In 2018, roughly 131 million people in the Western Pacific were living with diabetes.

Per WHO, diabetes caused about 262,000 deaths in the region in 2019.

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