Health & Living

The burden of chronic kidney disease is a silent but growing public health crisis in Malaysia. Minister of Health Dato’ Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad recently highlighted how treatment costs have surged from RM572 million in 2010 to RM3.3 billion annually. So what isn’t working and what do rising costs tell us about the impact CKD has on our healthcare services and our population? Consultant urologist D...

 It is estimated that 15-20% of the population is neurodivergent. That means it’s likely that you have identified as being neurodivergent or someone in your workplace is. And yet, the acceptance and inclusion of neurodivergent people at work is uneven, and most people find it challenging to get support and accommodations for their needs at the workplace. A global report by the Association of...

In some ways, it feels like 2020 all over again - the work-from-home directives, along with a sense of anxiety over global events. Licensed counsellor Heeran Kaur joins us to share some advice on how we can manage our mental health during this period, especially for those working from home, and those dealing with stresses and uncertainties due to the Middle East crisis.Image credit: ShutterstockSe...

Humans breathe approximately 20,000 to 22,000 times a day, but how often do we pay attention to how we breathe? In this month’s open clinic, we’re joined by consultant respiratory physician Dr Helmy Haja Mydin to unpack some things you may or may not have known about respiration, and maybe take your breath away with some of the interesting facts later on.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.co...

Recently, the Health Parliamentary Special Select Committee proposed that insurance coverage should be expanded for mental health services. We’ve gone from zero mental health coverage to at least three providers including some coverage in their policies within the last seven years, but has this been enough? On this episode of Mind Matters, we speak to Siti Subaidah Mustaffa, Chairman of the Nation...

What is the DRG or diagnosis-related group system? If you’ve been following the news about healthcare reform, you would’ve heard Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad mention this several times since he first brought it up in 2024. As of now, the Health Ministry says that the DRG system is planned to be rolled out for the private sector in 2026, before a national system in 2027. But how do...

For two decades, general practitioners have not been able to charge beyond RM35 for clinic consultation fees, but a new revision has finally been gazetted that will raise the fees to RM10-RM80. We speak to Dr Arasu Rajoo, President of the Malaysian Medical Association, to find out if these new rates match GPs’ expectations, and how it will affect patients.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.c...

The temperatures are soaring in many states in Malaysia, and the current heatwave is expected to persist until June, as El Niño continues. What is the impact of temperatures above 37 or 38 degrees Celsius on the body, especially among older adults, children and those with higher exposure to outdoor heat? We ask Dr Jeewadas Baladas, Emergency Physician, about measures to prevent heat-related illnes...

When we think about healthcare, we often picture doctors and nurses on the frontlines. But behind many life-changing interventions, from artificial limbs to diagnostic devices, are biomedical engineers designing, building, and refining the technologies that make modern healthcare possible. On today’s episode of Humans of Healthcare, we speak to Dr Nooranida Arifin, a biomedical engineer specialisi...

Picking up Type 1 diabetes early isn’t just about getting a diagnosis - it’s about preventing a health crisis. We speak to consultant paediatric endocrinologist Dr Azriyanti Anuar Zaini from Universiti Malaya Medical Centre about why type 1 diabetes is often missed and whether childhood screening will change things. Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

An emerging public health threat lurks amid the rubble and destruction of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Antimicrobial-resistant infections are a major concern for people living in conflict zones and beyond, especially as exposure to heavy metals increases in war-torn areas. We speak to Dr Antoine Abou Fayad, Associate Professor of Experimental Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology at t...

The Health Ministry has waged a war on sugar to tackle the inexorable rise in non-communicable diseases. But are policies like the sugar-sweetened beverage tax and the Healthier Choice Logo working to reduce sugar consumption, and are they translating into lower disease rates? We take a look at areas where our nutrition and economic policies are misaligned and what are the opportunities to target...

In February this year, 76-year-old Halim Yunos from Singapore made headlines here when he was reported missing while on holiday with his family in KL. His family were worried because he had mild dementia but after a week of searching, he was found safe. Wandering is common among people with dementia, and is often a cause for concern among family members. We unpack what family members should be pre...

Goodbye, lab mice. Hello, mini organs. For decades, medical research has been reliant on animal testing. From understanding diseases like Alzheimer’s to developing new and safe cancer treatments, mice have played a key role in helping scientists mimic what happens in the human body. But amidst global efforts to phase out animal testing and find more humane alternatives, what is on the table? And w...

Kylie Jenner on the Vanity Fair cover. Jacob Elordi in Saltburn. From magazine covers to the silver screen and social media feeds, celebrities are glamourising smoking again. But are young people being swayed? We speak to Assoc Prof Dr Grace Kong from the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine to unpack this trend and what impact it will have on youth smoking habits.Image Credit:...

2.8 million Malaysian children are overweight or obese. This was estimated in the World Obesity Atlas 2026 released in March. But childhood obesity is not a new problem we’re dealing with, so is this number enough to jolt us into urgent action? Consultant urologist Dr George Lee is joined by public health medicine specialist Dr Ruben Ramakrishnan to dive into what we’re doing wrong and how it’s no...

You may have come across “compounded medications” being offered to you as a form of personalised medicine. What does this term mean? In our conversation with Gus Bassani, CEO, Professional Compounding Centers of America, we take a deeper dive into pharmaceutical compounding, and what are the standards and safeguards that need to be in place to ensure that consumers receive safe and effective treat...

What happens when every emotion is treated as an illness, or given a mental health label? Do we risk becoming a society that cannot accept the messiness of normal, daily emotions, and end up burdening the mental healthcare system? We speak to Esther Chu, a registered and licensed counsellor, about finding the balance between increasing mental health awareness, and over-pathologising ordinary feeli...

Colorectal cancer used to be most common among adults over the age of 50, but things are changing. With more cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed in young adults, what explains this change and should we all be alarmed? We unpack this with consultant colorectal and general surgeon Dr Khong Tak Loon and consultant clinical oncologist Dr Winnie Ng from Subang Jaya Medical Centre.See omnystudio.com/li...

Thin is back in vogue, but this time not due to diet culture but a quick fix from a drug. With GLP-1 drugs - or what some might colloquially refer to as weight loss drugs - booming in popularity, how are these drugs and the bodies of celebrities who are on it changing our body image ideals? Is the body positivity movement losing hard-earned ground? We speak to social psychologist Prof Dr Viren Swa...

Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh recently announced an 80% reduction in gym licence fees in KL, hoping that gym owners will be able to pass on the discount to their clientele as part of broader efforts to tackle obesity. Whether or not the discount is significant enough to pass on to consumers, there is another question to ask: what motivates people to exercise? Is it just about cheaper gy...

For many people with Down syndrome and their families, loneliness is a common experience, especially when children are excluded from play and education settings, and families are isolated and feel cut off from support. We mark World Down Syndrome Day on 21 March by giving those in the community a space to share how society can come together against loneliness and provide real inclusion for people...

What made Tengku Nazeehah decide to go for a colonoscopy, even though she had no symptoms like constipation, diarrhoea, bloody stools or stomach pain? Till today, she can’t explain it, but has no regrets because it detected the cancer that had been growing silently in her colon. She shares her positive outlook on being a colorectal cancer survivor, ostomate and patient navigator. From 31 March, CO...

Can you find something to be grateful for every day? For more than 10 years, practising gratitude every day helped Caleen Chua stay away from spiralling negative feelings like depression and loneliness. On ‘Because Feelings Matter’, the founder of Yoga For Mums shares about how she coped with bullying in her adolescence, episodes of depression, and a health scare, through yoga, mindfulness and gra...

Anatomy is a field of study that is thousands of years old, tracing back to ancient Egypt. But it was the work of Andreas Vesalius dissecting human bodies in the 16th century that revolutionised the study of anatomy. Fast forward to today, how much about what we know of the human body has changed? What does an anatomist do? To find out, on this episode of Humans of Healthcare, we speak to anatomis...