MORE than 1,700 people might never have found out that they had diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol if not for a national screening programme for these chronic diseases.

Many of them were found to have more than one of these conditions.

They made up nearly four in 10 - 38 per cent - of those who turned up for screening within four months of the end-June launch of the Integrated Screening Programme's launch in end-June last year.

But the turnout rate has been dismal. Just 4,500 people showed up for screening in those four months. About 600,000 invitation letters have been sent out so far.

About 70 per cent of the 4,500 who came forward were from lower-income families living in three-room or smaller HDB flats.

The programme, run by the Health Promotion Board, aims to diagnose these three most common chronic diseases early so that they can be treated early to forestall life-threatening and costly complications such as heart disease and stroke.

For the full story, read Monday's edition of The Straits Times.