Objectives: Undiagnosed glycaemic disorders remain a major health concern as in such cases the opportunity for early interventions that can potentially prevent complications is missed. Erectile dysfunction (ED) has been suggested as a predictor for glycaemic disorders in men. However, data on men with ED having undiagnosed glycaemic disorders is limited, especially in the Malaysian context. This study aimed to identify prevalence and associated factors of undiagnosed glycaemic disorders in men with ED.
Methods: We applied a cross-sectional purposive sampling technique on a group of 114 men with ED without underlying glycaemic disorders. They underwent a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test and the cases were then classified into two groups: normal and undiagnosed glycaemic disorders groups. The glycaemic disorders group consisted of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and impaired fasting glucose (IFG). The patients were interviewed, and their medical records were reviewed for their sociodemographic and clinical profiles.
Results: Prevalence of undiagnosed glycaemic disorders in men with ED was 41.2%. Higher age (adjusted OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.17, p = 0.002) and BMI (adjusted OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.29, p = 0.003) were found to be significantly associated with undiagnosed glycaemic disorders.
Conclusion: This study found that men with ED had a high prevalence of undiagnosed glycaemic disorders. ED was associated with advancing age and higher BMI. Further research to validate the findings of this study is needed to increase the prevalence of DM screening among men with ED.
Study site: Klinik Kesihatan Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
OBJECTIVE: To study the barriers toward the utilization of primary care services for mental health problems among adolescents in a secondary school in Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in July 2008 at a secondary school in Hulu Langat, Selangor. The respondents were selected using randomised cluster sampling among Form Four and Form Five students. Students were given self-administered questionnaire, consisting socio-demographic data and questions on their help-seeking barrier and behaviour. Help-seeking behaviour questions assess the use of medical facility and help-seeking sources. The formal help-seeking sources include from teachers, counsellors and doctors. The informal help-seeking sources include from friends, parents and siblings.
RESULTS: A total of 175 students were included in the study. None of the students admitted of using the primary health care services for their mental health problems. Majority of the students were not aware of the services availability in the primary health care (97.1%). More than half of them thought the problems were due to their own mistakes (55.4%) and the problems were not that serious (49.1%). With regard to perception of the primary health care services, (43.2%) of the students were worried about confidentiality, half of them were concerned about other people's perception especially from their family members (44.6%) and friends (48.6%). Minority of them (10.8%) thought that nobody can help them. Few of them thought smoking (3.4%), alcohol (3.4%) and recreational drugs (1.1%) can solve their emotional problems.
CONCLUSION: One of the major barriers identified in the students' failure to use the health care facilities was their unawareness of the availability of the service for them in the community. Thus there is a need to promote and increase their awareness on this issue.
INTRODUCTION: Diabetic patients generally have a good idea about healthy diet however their awareness regarding specific dietary recommendations is questionable. Thus, this paper aims to examine the awareness regarding specific dietary components among diabetic patients at a primary care clinic and its influence on self-reported dietary practice.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) questionnaire (English-Malay version) was used. It was adapted with additional questions to assess respondents’ awareness on: (1) healthful eating plan, (2) the quantity of one serving of fruits and vegetables, (3) choices and the allowed quantity of high fat food intake, (4) meaning of carbohydrate, and (5) carbohydrate spacing per day.
RESULTS: From the 360 respondents, 85.0% knew about healthful eating plan. However, those who were unaware of the meaning of carbohydrate, carbohydrate spacing, the allowed high fat food intake, and the quantity of one serving of fruits and vegetables were 34.1%, 47.5%, 40.0%, and 30.8% respectively. Generally, the dietary practice reported by those who knew ‘one serving of fruits and vegetables’ (p<0.001), ‘allowed quantity of high fat food intake’ (p=0.001), ‘meaning of carbohydrate’ (p<0.001), or ‘carbohydrate spacing’ (p<0.001) was significantly different than those who were unaware of these terms.
CONCLUSION: Although most respondents knew about healthful eating plan, majority of them were unaware of the specific dietary components, suggesting superficial dietary knowledge. Unfortunately, poor dietary awareness significantly influenced their self-reported dietary practice which could be considered as inaccurate. Thus, strategies to improve their dietary knowledge is necessary at the primary care setting.
Keywords: Type 2 diabetes mellitus, diet, awareness, self-care, primary care
Study site: Klinik Kesihatan Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia