Introduction: Identified parameters associated with geriatric malnutrition add greatly to the knowledge of clinical nutrition and facilitate patient-centred nutritional care management.
Methods: A six-month cross-sectional study with the aims of deterrninine the prevalence of malnutrition and its associated parameters was conducted among hospitalised geriatrics admitted to Hospital USM. A total of 130 (49 men, 81 women) eligible participants with a mean age of 69.7 (6.99) were recruited for this study. Anthropometric tests, biochemical tests, and subjective global assessments (SGA) were applied in this study to assess the nutritional status of the participants. Meanwhile, socio-demographics, nutritional risk factors, and clinical elements were examined to identify the associated factors of malnutrition.
Results: The findings of this study revealed that 35.4% of the participants were malnourished based on SGA ratings of B (26.2%) and C (9.2%), with women having a significantly higher proportion (43.5%) compared to men (22 4%) with p
Menopause is the most prevalent cause of accelerated bone loss in women. Biochemical markers of bone resorption can be used clinically to predict future bone loss. This study aimed to determine the level of bone resorption markers in healthy pre and postmenopausal Malay women and determine their association with the risk. A total of 150 healthy women were recruited for this study (51 pre and 99 postmenopausal subjects). Data on socioeconomic, lifestyle habit and clinical were gained by personal interview. Fasting serum was collected to measure both C-telopeptide (CTx) and N-telopeptide (NTx) of type 1 collagen. Both markers were highly correlated with each other (r=0.568, p<0.001). Both intra- and inter-assay coefficient of variations (CV) of NTx were higher than those of CTx (8% and 12% vs 6% and 5%). The mean CTx values of pre and postmenopausal subjects were comparable with the expected values (0.2833 (0.1769) ng/mL and 0.4323 (1.851) ng/mL compared with 0.287 and 0.438 ng/mL, respectively). The NTx value for premenopausal subjects were higher than the expected values (15.2 (8.10) compared to 12.6 (3.20) nM BCE). The median was 19.929 nM BCE. The mean CTx and NTx levels of postmenopausal subjects were significantly lower than premenopausal subjects (p<0.05). The risk factors for bone resorption in this population were duration of menopause, marital status, body mass index (BMI), physical activity and education level. In conclusion, postmenopausal women showed a higher bone resorption, indicating higher bone loss. Increasing education and physical activity intervention might be effective to ensure better health in Malaysian older population.
Treatment effectiveness depends on the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of osteoarthritis (OA) patients to- wards their assigned treatment. This study aimed to explore the KAP towards non-surgical intervention among OA patients. A methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) was implemented. An electronic database search of English-language academic articles was conducted using PubMed and ScienceDirect databases encompassing 1998 to 2018 period of time, resulting in a total of 26 studies. OA patients were knowledgeable about the disease and exercise management. However, they were lack of knowledge on drug therapy and complementary strategies. The attitude towards non-surgical interventions was ambivalence. Lastly, the practice section mainly fo- cused on patients’ compliance and behaviour towards different conservative managements, namely physiotherapy, medications, and complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) which influenced by both knowledge level and attitudes. In conclusion, a higher knowledge level and positive attitude will result in good practice.
Introduction: Goats milk provides health benefits due to its unique fatty acid composition that
comprises relatively high amounts of short- and medium-chain fatty acids, which make goats
milk easy to digest.
Methods: A total of 20 powdered goats milk samples were selected based
on ease of availability in shops in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan. Proximate composition and fatty
acids, specifically C6:0, C8:0 and C10:0 were determined using AOAC methods (2000), and
gas-chromatography, respectively.
Results were compared with commercial pure goats milk
(CBM®). Results: Wide variations in the proximate composition and fatty acid contents were
found among the samples when compared with the CBM® sample. The mean range values for
energy were 368 to 498 kcal/100 g, moisture: 2.46 to 4.28 g/100 g, ash: 2.04 to 6.61 g/100 g,
protein: 2.80 to 26.24 g/100 g, fat: 1.68 to 25.90 g/100 g and carbohydrates: 44.81 to 87.64
g/100 g. The total short and medium-chain fatty acids contents ranged from 3.22% to 12.97%.
Conclusion: There is a need for standardisation of the proximate composition and fatty acids
contents of goats milk available in Malaysia.
Background: Having multiple kinds of health problems among metabolic syndrome patients may cause
them stress. Life events also may worsen their stress. Negative stress affects not only their physical but also
emotional health. Various coping styles are used in order to deal with their stress. However, not all coping
styles can overcome their stress.
Objectives: This study aims to explore the coping styles that have been employed by the stressed metabolic
syndrome patients in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia.
Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the stressed metabolic syndrome patients in
Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia. A purposive sampling was selected among stressed respondents, as
fifteen of them participated in this study after saturation data was reached. The qualitative data was analysed
using content analysis and was categorized into dysfunctional, problem-focused and emotion-focused
coping.
Results: The themes that emerged were; self-distraction, venting, behavioural disengagement, denial and
self-blame. These were categorized as dysfunctional coping; acceptance, religion and emotional support as
emotion-focused coping and active coping and instrumental support which were categorized as problemfocused
coping. Other new coping styles identified were physical intervention, avoidance and emotion
suppression.
Conclusion: Coping styles has direct influence on the feeling of stress. Stressed patients used many
dysfunctional coping styles rather than other categories of coping which lead them to remain in stress. These
data highlighted the need to educate patients about good coping styles to give them additional skills in
managing their stress thus improving their health.
Evidence-based information on nutritional status of elderly people is essential for the formulation of health care system and prevents the elderly people from the risk of poor health and malnutrition. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of malnutrition among elderly people in Northern Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 236 participants (149 men and 87 women), aged 60 years and above, resided in government-funded shelter home were recruited. Anthropometric parameters of body weight, standing height, body mass index (BMI), mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) and waist circumference (WC) were measured and used as indices to assess malnutrition. The overall prevalence of underweight based on BMI <18.5 kg/m2 was 17.4%. The prevalence of overweight based on BMI ≥25 kg/m2 was 28.4%. Gender and ethnicity were significantly associated with malnutrition (p<0.05). Women were significantly more vulnerable to both underweight and overweight. Most Malays (37.7%) had overweight and obesity problems whereas more Indians (22.5%) were posed to greater risk of underweight. More women (32.2%) had high WC than men (4%) (p<0.05). A significantly declined trend of anthropometric measurements was observed among the elderly between age groups 60-69 years and ≥80 years. In conclusion, malnutrition and overweight coexisted among the institutionalized elderly people and this situation urged for specific interventional strategies and health policy formulation in order to reduce this double burden of disease.
The main objective of the study was to determine the factors associated with blood cholesterol level among staff in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The study was a cross-sectional. One-hundred staff between 23 and 59 years of age were recruited in this study using convenient sampling at USM Health Campus. A questionnaire which includes sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, and red meat intake was used in the study. Anthropometric and biochemical assessment were measured. Blood cholesterol level was divided into two categories which were known as healthy range (<5.2mmol/L) and slight risk/high risk range (≥5.2mmol/L). The gender distribution of respondents for this study comprised of 40 male and 60 female. The age group (18 to 39) years and (40 to 59) years had a total of 40.3% and 63.2% of slightly risk or high risk blood cholesterol respectively; with the significant association between age group and blood cholesterol level (χ²=4.916,p=0.027). Besides, normal BMI group had 66.7% of respondents achieved healthy blood cholesterol level whereas underweight, overweight and obese group had 39.7% achieved healthy blood cholesterol with the significant association between BMI and blood cholesterol level (χ²=7.112,p=0.008). Moreover, daily or weekly intake of red meat showed that 65.0% of total respondents had a healthier blood cholesterol level compared to 51.0% of monthly, rarely, or none red meat intake group which achieved healthy blood cholesterol level. The result also showed a significant association between red meat intake and blood cholesterol (χ²=5.229, p=0.022), which indicating less red meat consumption is linked to high level of blood cholesterol level. Therefore, further investigation and future studies are needed to gain a clearer understanding of the association between these variables and blood cholesterol level.
Control of modifiable risk factors is important in recurrent stroke prevention strategies. This study aimed to determine the control of blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk profiles among post-stroke patients. Factors associated with uncontrolled blood pressure were also determined. MATERIAL ANDMETHODS:A cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient clinics of three hospitals located in the East Coast region of Peninsular Malaysia from May to August 2019. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, clinical profiles, and lifestyle practices were acquired. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out. Crude odds ratio and adjusted odds ratio (aOR) were reported. RESULTS:From a total of 398 stroke patients, majority of the respondents were elderly with first-ever stroke, ischaemic type, and duration of stroke less than 24 months. Uncontrolled blood pressure (52%), overweight and obesity (65%), abdominal obesity (54%), and low physical activity level (65%) were common among the patients. Patients with hypertension (aOR= 3.11, 95% CI: 1.38, 6.99), diabetes mellitus (aOR 1.57, 95% CI: 1.03, 2.38), not taking prescribed medication every day (aOR 2.28, 95% CI: 1.29, 4.01), overweight (aOR 1.75, 95% CI:1.02, 2.99), obesity (aOR 1.99, 95% CI: 1.12, 3.53), and low physical activity level (aOR 2.10, 95% CI: 1.35, 3.27) were at a higher risk of having uncontrolled blood pressure. CONCLUSION:Uncontrolled blood pressure and other major cardiovascular risk factors were highly prevalent among post-stroke patients. Increased efforts must be made to optimise the risk profiles management of these high-risk patients to prevent recurrent vascular events in the future.
Introduction: By the end of 2015, about 72,152 children with learning disabilities were registered under the Malaysian Welfare Service Department (JKM). Malnutrition has been found to be a common setback among children with learning disability (LD). This study presents available evidence on the prevalence and risk factors associated with malnutrition in children with LD.
Methods: A framework suggested by Arksey & O`Male (2005) was used to carry out this scoping review. Published articles, reviews and reports were identified through a complete search. Inclusion criteria for the search were English articles related to LD, published from 2005 to 2016.
Results: Seventeen international studies published from 2005 until 2015 with a total of 318,596 participants and one study involving 281 participants from Malaysia, were identified and included in this review (n=18). The target age range of the sample in these 18 studies was 2 - 20 years, with a mean age of 3.2 - 14.2 years. The prevalence of underweight among children with LD was 3.4 - 36%, overweight 7.6 - 37% and obesity 5.7 - 52%. Several studies reveal that malnutrition risk among children with LD is significantly associated with gender, age, genetic syndrome, type of disability, medication used, and country economic status.
Conclusion: A number of studies show that children with LD have a higher prevalence of being overweight and obese than typically developing children and the risk associated with obesity significantly increases with age.
Objectives: This study was conducted with two objectives, i) to assess the prevalence of malnutrition among children and adolescents with learning disability (LD) in Kelantan, a rural state located at the north-eastern region of Peninsular Malaysia; and ii) to examine the associations of participants’ socioeconomic and feeding characteristics with their body mass index (BMI).
Methods: A total of 271 children and adolescents with LD aged between 4 to 19 years old were recruited from 32 community-based rehabilitation centres using purposive sampling method. Standing height and body weight of participants were measured. Socioeconomic and feeding information were obtained from their primary caregivers through interviews using structured questionnaire. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine the associations of socioeconomic and feeding characteristics with participants’ BMI.
Results: The prevalence of underweight among children and adolescents with LD was 22.5%; while another 22.1% of them were overweight and obese. Multiple linear regression models showed that being Down’s syndrome (Adjusted regression coefficient β=2.63, p
A local Malnutrition Risk Screening Tool-Hospital (MRST-H) has been developed to identify the risk of malnutrition among hospitalized geriatric patients in Malaysia. The aims of this multicenter study were to evaluate the criterion validity of the MRST-H against the reference standard Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and revise its scoring criteria among Malaysian geriatric patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 542 geriatric patients at eight general hospitals in Peninsular Malaysia from January 2011 to February 2013. The Malay version MRST-H and SGA were administered to all participants through face-to-face interviews. Sensitivity and specificity of MRST-H were established using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves and the optimal cut-off scores were determined. The MRST-H had area under the ROC curve (AUC) values of 0.84 and 0.88 when validated against the SGA-determined malnutrition (SGA B+C) and severe malnutrition (SGA C) status. These high AUC values indicated that the MRST-H has very good overall diagnostic accuracy. However, the original cut-off score of five points for MRST-H has undesirable sensitivity in identifying the malnutrition (sensitivity = 0.12) and severely malnutrition (sensitivity = 0.35) status. The optimal cut-off score of MRST-H in identifying malnourished and severely malnourished participants were both established at the cut-off score of two points. The sensitivity of MRST-H increased substantially at this point without compromising its specificity. Therefore, the established cut-off score of two points with optimal sensitivity and specificity was selected to replace to original cut-off score for screening of risk of malnutrition among hospitalized geriatric patients.
Introduction: This study aimed to identify dietary patterns (DPs) and their
association with successful aging (SA). Methods: A comparative cross-sectional
study was conducted among 579 elderly subjects recruited from four states in
Malaysia through a multistage random sampling method. SA was defined as having
no chronic illnesses, no functional limitation, normal global function, no depression,
a good quality of life and good self-perceived health. Information on dietary intake was
obtained using a diet history questionnaire. Cognitive functions were assessed using
the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), depressive symptoms using Geriatric
Depression Score-15 items (GDS-15) and a question regarding their perceived health
and quality of life. Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily
Living (IADL) questionnaires were used to determine functional status. DPs were
obtained using the principal component analysis (PCA) approach. An ordinal logistic
regression model was used to examine associations between DP scores and SA.
Results: Five DPs were identified namely ‘sweet foods-beverages’, ‘meat-vegetablesrice and noodles’, ‘local snacks-fish and seafood-high salt foods’, ‘fruits-legumes’, and
‘tropical fruits-oats’. A higher score for ‘tropical fruits-oats’ DP was associated with
SA [Adjusted OR=1.59 (95% CI: 1.08-2.32)]. However, the association diminished
when the model was adjusted for education level. Further analysis indicated that
this DP increased the chance of SA among those with secondary education and above
[Adjusted OR=2.43 (95% CI: 1.09–5.42)]. Conclusion: ‘Tropical fruits-oats’ DP is
associated with SA among elderly with secondary education and above. There is a
need to investigate DPs among those with lower education.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes 70% of all death globally. The prevalence of CKD has shown an increasing trend for the past 20 years in Malaysia. Thus, determining the knowledge and awareness of CKD among healthcare students in preparing them to be a good healthcare provider in the future is important. This study aimed to determine the association between knowledge and awareness about CKD among International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) undergraduate students. A crosssectional study was conducted among 108 students using simple random sampling method. The questionnaire was given to the class representative to be self-administered to interested students. It had close-ended questions consisting of Part A to Part D. The scoring given for correctly answered items was one and the total score for Part C was 7 marks. Most of the students were female (70.4%). The mean knowledge score of CKD was 3.65 (SD = 1.12) with nearly half of the students (43.5%) classified as having poor knowledge. Most respondents were aware about CKD (99.1%) and have heard about it from medical personnel (48.1%) and the Internet (25.9%). Further analysis showed that only courses taken by the respondents were significantly associated with knowledge on CKD (p = 0.039). The level of knowledge among undergraduate students is still poor, yet they are aware about the existence of CKD and its aetiology. Therefore, the health sciences curriculum should emphasise on CKD management from a multidisciplinary aspect of care. It is recommended to conduct similar research among different student populations to create awareness and obtain important baseline findings.
Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of a one and a half year educational intervention on the job dissatisfaction of teachers in 30 Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) centres in Kelantan, Malaysia, and to identify the factors influencing changes in job dissatisfaction following the intervention. Method: Ten educational modules were administered to the teachers. A validated Malay version of Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) was used pre intervention, mid intervention and post intervention. Result: Repeated Measure ANOVA revealed there was a statistically significant reduction in the mean of job dissatisfaction (p = 0.048). Multiple Linear Regression revealed that co- worker support (β= 0.034 (95% CI = 0.009, 0.059)), having less decision authority (β: -0.023; 95% CI: -0.036, -0.01) and being single (β: -0.107; 95% CI: -0.176,-0.038) were significantly associated with decreases in job dissatisfaction. Conclusion: The intervention program elicited improvement in job satisfaction. Efforts should be made to sustain the effect of the intervention in reducing job dissatisfaction by continuous support visits to CBR centres.