Some 36 per cent of the nearly 290,000 Jamaicans who have been tested for various non-communicable diseases (NCDs) under the Know Your Numbers campaign of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, have presented an “abnormal result”.

Of those tested, more than 72,000 have been screened as at the end of April.

Still, the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton says more Jamaicans need to know their numbers and, as such, should get screened. He was speaking in the Sectoral Debate at Gordon House on Tuesday.

Of the number of tests conducted, 103,817 were for blood pressure, 82,682 for blood glucose (sugar), 35,178 for cholesterol, and 67,573 for body mass index.

“It is instructive to note that from the 289,430 tests conducted, 105,228 or 36 per cent reported abnormal test results,” said Tufton.

Meanwhile, he said his ministry will this year continue the rollout of screening islandwide, as part of primary health care reform, which champions routine screening and delivery of health education messages according to the life stage at every doctor’s visit.

“This way, we integrate Know Your Numbers into the health centre, thereby enabling the increase in the health literacy of the population for better decision making. The Government has prioritised screening and will continue to expand under our new life stage approach. We must stay the course,” said Tufton.