This study was to investigate the association between functional dentition with inadequate calorie intake and underweight in elderly people living in “Pondok” in Kelantan. A cross-sectional study participated by 369 elderly people was carried out. A simple random sampling method was utilized for the selection of the subjects. Subjects were interviewed using a structured form to collect information about subjects’ demographic background and self-reported health status. The 24-hour recall method was used to provide information on the subject’s exact food intake during the previous 24 hours. Body mass index was calculated from subjects’ weight and height, followed by oral assessment. The “Nutrical Software” was used for nutrient calculation, followed by SPSS version 11.5 for data analysis. The response rate was 95.6%. Majority of the respondents were female (92.4%). The percentage of subjects who had inadequate calorie intake and underweight was 71.0% and 25.7% respectively. The percentage of edentulism was 81.0%. The proportion of elderly with compromised functional dentition was 48.2% and majority was edentate elderly without wearing any complete dentures or wearing defective dentures, 23.6% and 56.2% respectively, while 20.2% was dentate elderly. The odds of having inadequate calorie intake and getting underweight among elderly with a compromised functional dentition was 3.7 times and 42.0 times respectively, compared to elderly with a non-compromised functional dentition. There was a significant association between inadequate calorie intake and underweight with functional dentition among elderly living in “Pondok” in Kelantan.
Limited information is available about the oral health of elderly people living in “Pondok” in Kelantan. This study aimed to assess the dentition status of elderly population staying in Islamic Religious Community Setup, “Pondok” in Kelantan. A cross sectional study involving 369 elderly people was carried out. A simple random sampling method was utilized for the selection of the subjects. Oral examination was done to assess the dentition status and data was analyzed using SPSS 11.5 version. The response rate was 95.6%. Majority of the subjects were edentulous (81.0%). The mean number of natural teeth, functional natural teeth, decayed teeth (D), missing teeth (M) and teeth indicated for extraction (X) were 3.22 (SD 7.54), 2.75 (SD 6.70), 0.06 (SD 0.48), 28.80 (SD 7.51) and 0.41 (SD 1.60) respectively. Among 70 dentate subjects, the mean number of natural teeth, functional natural teeth, occluding pair of functional natural teeth, decayed teeth (D), missing teeth (M), teeth indicated for extraction (X) and DMFX(T) index were 17.1 (SD 8.00), 14.5 (SD 8.11), 6.3 (SD 4.22), 0.3 (SD 1.06), 15.1 (SD 8.20), 2.2 (SD 3.14) and 17.6 (SD 8.08) respectively. There was no teeth had been filled (F). The proportion of subjects having minimum 20 functional natural teeth was 7.3%. The above results indicate that dental caries status of elderly people living in “Pondok” in Kelantan was unsatisfactory with high percentage of edentulism, contributing to the high value of the mean DMFX(T) index, 29.3 (SD 6.63).
INTRDUCTION: Obesity and chronic diseases have been increasing since the last few decades alongside rapid economic development in developed and developing countries. The alarming increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity had been shown by many epidemiological studies worldwide. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Chinese school children in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, and to map the association between dietary practices and their nutritional status.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 278 school children aged 10 to 12 years old (144 boys and 134 girls) studying in a Chinese primary school in Kota Bharu.
RESULTS: The survey revealed that while only 1.4% (n=4) were overweight, 23.4% (n=65) of the children were obese. A total of 67.7% (n=44) of the obese children were boys. The overweight and obese children (n=70) were compared with a randomly selected group of normal weight children (n=70). Dietary assessment showed that protein, fat and total calorie intake were significantly higher among the overweight group (p<0.05). A significantly higher proportion of the normal weight children (85.7%) took breakfast daily or at least 4 days per week compared to the overweight groups (59.4%) (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of obesity among school children in the study is a matter of concern. These findings may be useful in targeting programmes and strategies for prevention and intervention of childhood obesity.