KUALA LUMPUR (April 19): The Malaysian Muslim Doctors Organisation (Perdim) has launched a course for members on the use of genetic screening for preventive care in collaboration with Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre Berhad (Malaysian Genomics).

Perdim and Malaysian Genomics in a joint statement today said through the two-day Advanced Nutrigenomics Intensive Course, clinicians will learn how to harness the power of genetic screening, in tandem with conventional pathology testing, to build a more complete picture of patients’ health.

According to the statement, Perdim developed the programme following rising demand for both preventive care and genetic screening from its doctor members and their patients to address the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among patients.

Perdim president Datuk Dr Ahmad Shukri Ismail as quoted in the statement said the organisation believes that genetic screening can play an increasingly important role in routine care, including preventive care for healthy patients.

Other than that, Perdim vice president Dr Wan Julia Sham Ariffin said Perdim wants to help its clinician members to understand which genetic screening tests are suitable for their patients, and how the results of such tests can be integrated into a personalised screening or intervention plans.

“By understanding a patient’s genetic risks, we can offer targeted and personalised interventions involving pathology screening, dietary, nutritional, and lifestyle changes, which can mitigate the risk of developing the NCD,” said Dr Wan Julia Sham.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Genomics chief executive officer Sasha Nordin said Perdim plays an important role in establishing a model for using genetic screening in clinical care, especially in preventive care, which is needed to stem the silent pandemic of NCDs that is plaguing Malaysians.

According to the statement, NCDs are the largest cause of death worldwide, comprising mainly cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.

The statement also mentioned that according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2015, an estimated 3.5 million (17.5%) adult Malaysians were living with diabetes, 6.1 million (30.3%) with hypertension, 9.6 million (47.7%) with hypercholesterolaemia and 3.3 million (17.7%) with obesity.