Average glycated haemoglobin among participants with diabetes fell from 7.76% to 6.70% after a year in Hong Kong’s Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme, according to a University of Hong Kong medical-school evaluation commissioned by the Health Bureau. Participants were 2.8 times as likely as patients relying on self-management to bring the measure below 7%, the study reported.
The evaluation’s early cohort included 26,000 people who had completed screening by June 30, 2024. Of these, 9,308 entered treatment and 5,950 completed a year of follow-up. Among participants with high blood pressure, average systolic pressure fell by 14.87 mmHg and LDL cholesterol by 0.56 mmol/L. For those with pre-diabetes, average body mass index fell by 0.52 kg/m² and LDL cholesterol by 0.41 mmol/L.
The study team also projected changes over the next decade: 10% fewer cases of peripheral vascular disease, 9% fewer cases of stroke and heart failure, and 8% fewer cases of type 2 diabetes. For a scenario with 200,000 participants, the head of the University of Hong Kong’s Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care estimated that the scheme could avert 502 strokes and 253 cases of heart failure, and prevent 591 cases of type 2 diabetes.
The scheme offers cardiovascular-risk screening through family doctors to Hong Kong residents aged 45 or older, with government subsidies and participant co-payments. It began in November 2023 and became a regular programme in March 2026.
More than 200,000 people had joined by January 2026. RTHK later reported that participation had grown to about 300,000 by the end of September.
A 51-year-old participant told HK01 that screening identified his type 2 diabetes and treatment improved his energy and physical condition. He built an exercise routine through activities at a district health centre, where he found friends to run and hike with. He said each consultation cost a little over HK$100 and prescribed medication meant he did not have to buy cholesterol-lowering medicine himself.