KARACHI: An increasing number of young adults in Pakistan, aged 20 to 30, are being diagnosed with undetected type 2 diabetes, often only after arriving in hospital with blocked heart vessels or high blood pressure, health experts said on Friday.

Speaking at the Pakistan Endocrine Society’s (PES) annual conference, doctors said emergency wards are receiving patients in their twenties and thirties with multiple blocked arteries. Many only learn they have diabetes and hypertension after undergoing angiography and blood tests.

At the event, the Discovering Diabetes team released its 2024-2025 impact report, stating that the programme has reached over 8.5 million people, assessed nearly 966,000 for diabetes risk, and connected more than 463,000 suspected patients to medical care.

“Every fourth Pakistani is diabetic,” said Dr Abrar Ahmed, former president of the PES. “If we want progress, lifestyle changes must start now. As soon as lifestyle improves, diabetes starts coming under control. The focus has shifted to weight loss injections instead of routine sugar checks and basic management.”

Project Director Syed Jamshed Ahmed said over 33m people in Pakistan have been diagnosed with diabetes, with a similar number likely undiagnosed.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2025