Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 5 (PTI) At least 18.14 per cent among the 1.53 crore people screened for diagnosing lifestyle diseases as part of the Ardram Arogyam project in Kerala were found to be having at least one risk factor for major lifestyle diseases, the State Health Department said on Friday.

State Health Minister Veena George said in the first phase, the screening of over 1.53 crore persons above 30 years of age was completed and a follow-up treatment of over 13.6 lakh people was ensured.

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The second phase of diagnosing lifestyle diseases as part of the Ardram Arogyam project in the state to screen such non-communicable diseases will start soon, George said in a release.

The second phase of the project named "Shaili 2" was finalised in a meeting chaired by George, the Health department said in a release.

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In the second stage, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) will visit homes to screen people above 30 years for leprosy, vision and hearing impairment and mental health issues, the department said.

The Health department said that screening of 1,53,25,530 persons were done as part of the first phase in which it was found that 27,80,639 (18.14 per cent) are likely to develop a serious lifestyle disease.

Among the 20.5 lakh persons who were screened and suspected to be at risk of hypertension, the follow-up revealed that 31 per cent had hypertension and are considered as new cases. It also said that of the 20.45 lakh persons screened and suspected to be having diabetes, 2.7 per cent were confirmed to be newly diabetic.

The department said under the project, the health volunteers will visit the houses and screen for lifestyle diseases which will help in its early detection and control.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)