Medical news November 29: Burden of chronic diseases and obesity in Vietnam

Alarming rate of elderly people with chronic diseases and obesity in Vietnam

At the workshop “Nutrition and health status of the elderly in some big cities and proposed solutions”, Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuyen, President of the Vietnam Medical Association, announced the latest research results conducted by the Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine in some big cities on the nutrition and health status of the elderly.

Illustration photo.

Based on the research results, the Workshop proposed a number of strategic recommendations and intervention solutions to enhance the capacity of the health care system and effectively adapt to the rapidly aging population trend in Vietnam.

Research conducted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 2025 has shown an alarming situation regarding the nutritional and health status of the elderly, including overweight, obesity and chronic diseases.

Specifically, the obesity rate among the elderly surveyed was 33.2%. In addition, up to 87.7% of the elderly surveyed had at least one chronic disease, and on average each person had to deal with two or more chronic diseases. The most common of these were high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and bone and joint diseases.

Regarding nutrition, the research results reflect an imbalance in the elderly's diet when only 25% of those surveyed eat enough of the 5 food groups and 20% use foods rich in calcium and high biological value proteins such as milk and dairy products.

Meanwhile, the habit of consuming foods containing many health risk factors (high in salt, fried, rich in simple sugars) is quite common, with a rate of up to 40-60%.

At the workshop, delegates including many leading health experts agreed to propose a number of policy orientations and synchronous solutions, including increasing the issuance of circulars and detailed and synchronous professional guidelines on health care for the elderly; developing a multi-layered geriatric health network, promoting the role of provincial Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in health care and prevention of chronic diseases in the elderly.

At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen human resource training, include elderly health care content in formal medical education programs and short-term training courses at medical, nursing and social work training facilities;

At the same time, strengthen cooperation between the health sector, social security, and scientific research in building a comprehensive policy framework on population aging and elderly health care; invest in facilities for grassroots health care (commune/ward health stations).

Ministry of Health surveys medical conditions in preparation for APEC Summit Week 2027

The Ministry of Health's working delegation surveyed medical conditions in Phu Quoc and worked with An Giang province leaders on human resources, equipment, and medical facilities to serve the APEC 2027 Summit Week.

Accordingly, the delegation visited and surveyed the facilities and equipment at Phu Quoc Medical Center, Vinmec Phu Quoc International Hospital and Mat Troi International Hospital.

Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management of the Ministry of Health Ha Anh Duc said that the APEC 2027 Summit Week event will last about a week, and medical assurance work needs to be calculated for the period before the event takes place because there will be many entourage delegations coming to serve and survey.

Through the survey, the working group assessed that in terms of facilities, Vinmec Phu Quoc International Hospital and Mat Troi International Hospital basically meet and ensure medical needs.

Phu Quoc Medical Center in particular must upgrade its facilities, prioritizing the emergency department, followed by the internal treatment department; all emergency beds need to be replaced and 20 more emergency beds need to be arranged.

According to the Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management of the Ministry of Health, Ha Anh Duc, and members of the survey team, in an emergency or overload situation (more than 100 beds), it is necessary to calculate a plan to transfer the patient to a second or third facility; especially for trauma and pathological cases that require a treatment plan such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, cardiovascular diseases (although the probability is low) and surgery requires a plan to handle disaster situations (although the probability of safety is 1 in a million).

Regarding coordination, it is proposed to mobilize main doctors from hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, including mobilizing specialists and doctors (surgeons, traumatologists, cardiovascular interventionists); nursing alone has human resources.

The survey team also heard proposals on financial mechanisms for upgrading facilities to serve the APEC 2027 Summit Week.

Also at the survey, the leaders of An Giang province proposed that the Ministry of Health support the development of a mass disaster emergency project; a project on ensuring food safety, ensuring medical health and supporting investment in resources, facilities, equipment, including human resources to work with the province to successfully serve the APEC 2027 Summit Week.

Enhancing modern emergency capacity, increasing medical strength in the Central region

Recently, Vingroup Corporation coordinated with the Ministry of Health, the Department of Health and the People's Committee of Da Nang City to organize a handover ceremony of ambulances and medical equipment sponsored by Vingroup Corporation to the Da Nang City Emergency Center.

After Phu Quoc and Bac Ninh, Da Nang is one of the first six localities to pilot upgrading the outpatient emergency network, within the framework of the National Outpatient Emergency Project for the period 2025-2030. The project is chaired by the Ministry of Health and sponsored by Vingroup Corporation with 1,000 billion VND.

The project aims to build a synchronous, modern and professional foreign emergency network, ensuring that all people, whether in the city center, industrial zones or remote areas, receive timely emergency care in case of an accident.

As a tourist city, event center and dynamic economy of the Central region, Da Nang welcomes a large number of tourists and workers. Along with the characteristics of heavy traffic, harsh weather and risk of natural disasters, the need for emergency care during the "golden time" is becoming increasingly urgent.

According to the plan, the Danang Emergency System is arranged with 9 emergency stations under the Emergency Center in densely populated areas, core areas, and centers.

In the near future, the city is expected to set up 15 more satellite emergency stations at regional medical centers with human resources, medicine, equipment and ambulances on duty 24/7. All are directly connected to the 115 Emergency Coordination Center located at the Da Nang City Emergency Center, responsible for receiving, routing and monitoring the entire network.

The project brings together more than 130 medical staff with specialized training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, multiple trauma management, advanced first aid and resuscitation transport. When the 115 signal sounds, the system is immediately activated to approach the patient in the "golden time".

At the ceremony, Vingroup handed over 15 modern ambulances with equipment meeting EN 1789:2020 standards, as recommended by WHO and the American Heart Association, and complying with QCVN 31:2012/BYT.

Each vehicle is considered a “mobile emergency room”, equipped with a specialized ventilator, an electric shock machine with integrated monitor, FAST exam ultrasound, a 12-lead remote ECG, an intubation kit with camera, a trauma splint and many other emergency tools.

Speaking at the event, Professor, Dr. Tran Van Thuan, Deputy Minister of Health, assessed that Da Nang today has entered a new stage of development, with expanded boundaries and rapidly increasing demand for emergency care outside hospitals, requiring the emergency system to operate according to an inter-regional model, no longer a purely emergency unit within the scope of a city.

With practical support from Vingroup, Vinmec Healthcare System and Thien Tam Fund, we are completing another important link in this capacity. Strengthening standardized means, specialized training and building a smart coordination system will help Da Nang become a national model for foreign emergency care, protecting the lives of people and tourists."

In addition to supporting emergency vehicles and equipment, experts from Vinmec Healthcare System also accompanied Da Nang in implementing a community first aid training program, equipping emergency response skills for medical staff, teachers, industrial park workers, armed forces and service staff. The goal is to form a widespread emergency support network, helping people to provide initial first aid before professional forces arrive.

Previously, in Phu Quoc, the first locality supported by Vingroup to deploy the foreign emergency model, after just over a month of operation, the effectiveness of medical emergency operations has been significantly improved.

The system responds to 100% of calls with a vehicle dispatch time of less than 3 minutes and an average patient arrival time of less than 11 minutes. The rate of advanced emergency care is much higher than that of basic emergency care, demonstrating the capacity of the team and equipment to handle severe cases according to international standards right at the frontline.

Notably, 41% of patients were international tourists, showing that the model has become the “safety backbone” of an international tourist island. In particular, the model effectively reaches even emergency cases in the most difficult areas, from deep alleys to tourist spots 17-24 km away from the center.

Many people go to the doctor and discover skin cancer from black spots on the soles of their feet.

According to the Central Dermatology Hospital, recently, the hospital has received many people with black patches and spots on the soles of their feet coming to the hospital for examination and treatment.

The Department of Plastic Surgery and Rehabilitation, Central Dermatology Hospital these days receives many patients coming to examine skin cancer from black spots on the soles of their feet.

Dr. Nguyen Huu Quang, Deputy Head of the Department, said that patients of different ages saw black spots on the soles of their feet similar to the signs of skin cancer described in the media recently.

According to a patient over 60 years old, she discovered a black lesion on the sole of her right foot about 3-10 years ago but thought it was just a mole. Over time, the lesion gradually increased in size and became darker.

After watching TV and reading the news, she suspected it was skin cancer and went to the hospital for a check-up. Another patient, over 30 years old, said she discovered a black lesion measuring about 11 mm and gradually growing larger recently. Suspecting she had skin cancer, the patient went to the Central Dermatology Hospital for a check-up.

After synthesizing the paraclinical results, the doctor determined that all patients had in situ melanoma of the liver. According to Dr. Quang, fortunately, the patients had cancer in the early stages, and only needed to be treated with surgery to remove the entire tumor and reconstruct the defect. The patients would then be monitored and re-examined periodically for 5 years.

Dr. Nguyen Huu Quang said that melanoma is one of the most malignant skin cancers because it progresses rapidly and metastasizes far away. Although the disease is very malignant with a high rate of metastasis, if detected early and treated according to the correct regimen, the results will be good, with a very high 5-year survival rate, especially for melanoma in situ.

"If people see the above signs, they should visit a specialized medical facility for early detection and timely treatment. If they see black lesions on the soles of their feet or nails that are larger than 6mm, they should see a dermatologist," Dr. Quang advised.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/tin-moi-y-te-ngay-2911-ganh-nang-benh-man-tinh-va-beo-phi-o-viet-nam-d444707.html