Care scheme 'can lessen impact of chronic diseases'

The Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme can effectively improve the cardiovascular and metabolic health of participants in the trial project and reduce the burden of long-term illnesses on the community, a study by the University of Hong Kong medical school has found. The study, the findings of which were released on Monday, was commissioned by the Health Bureau and saw HKUMed delve into the impact of a pilot scheme that swelled in numbers to about 300,000 participants between November 2023 and the end of this September. Of the 160,000 participants who had been put through the whole screening process, about 40 percent, or 64,000, was diagnosed with high blood pressure or diabetes. Eric Wan, associate professor of family medicine and primary care, said the study found a drop in the number of diabetics who had participated in the pilot scheme and completed follow-up treatments for a year. The results, he said, showed significant reductions in their glycated haemoglobin and LDL cholesterol, two important markers used to evaluate long-term blood sugar control and cardiovascular health in diabetics. "The glycated haemoglobin level in diabetics fell from 7.76 percent to 6.7 percent, a decrease of as much as 1.05 percentage points, while systolic blood pressure fell from...