Thirty Chinese primiparous mothers were asked during the antenatal period their breastfeeding intention and then interviewed at delivery and 6 weeks post delivery. One mother had no intention to breastfeed. Ten mothers intended exclusive breastfeeding for one month and 19 for 6 weeks or more. At 6 weeks post delivery only 4 mothers were still breastfeeding. A total of 22 (73%) did not achieve their initial intention. For any future pregnancy, 5 chose exclusive breastfeeding, 22 complementary and 3 formula feeding. Chinese primiparous mothers have high breastfeeding intentions but the majority do not achieve them and their experience has discouraged them from exclusive breastfeeding in future pregnancies.
Poor glycaemic control among diabetic patient often relates to poor nutrition knowledge. The present study investigated level of nutrition knowledge and health awareness among diabetic patients at Cheras Health Clinic. A total of 132 respondents (62 men and 70 women) were divided into two categories, adults (30 – 69 years old) (50.8%) and elderly (60 years and above) (49.2%) were involved in this research. An interview based questionnaire was used to collect data of demographic, socioeconomic, level of nutrition knowledge and health awareness. Anthropometric measurements were also recorded. The respondents consisted of 36.4% Malays, 45.5% Chinese and 18.2% Indians. Majority of the respondents had poor glycaemic control (93.6%). Overall, 37.1% respondents were categorized as having poor nutrition knowledge, followed by 31.8% moderate and only 31.1% good. Adults showed a higher (65.6 + 22.1%) nutrition knowledge score than elderly (50.5 + 22.9%) (p<0.05). Besides, respondents with formal education also showed a higher (60.7 + 22.5%) nutrition knowledge score than those without formal education (26.9 + 12.7%) (p<0.05). Majority respondents answered ‘incorrectly’ to question regarding foods to be consumed most (72.0%) and ‘did not know’ foods that were needed to repair body tissues (44.7%). Respondents who had made an effort in finding nutrition information, willing to join health program, bought health insurance and had received dietary advise showed higher nutrition knowledge score (p<0.05). In conclusion, nutritional knowledge and health awareness among diabetic patients were poor. Therefore, an intervention program and health promotion are needed to be carried out to improve health awareness and nutrition knowledge among patients with diabetis mellitus type II. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; health awareness; health clinic; nutrition knowledge
Study site: Klinik Kesihatan Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the physical activity levels among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) at Cheras Health Clinic in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 132 subjects (62 men and 70 women) aged 30 years and above participated in this study. Data was collected using an interview based questionnaire to obtain socio-demographic and health profile information. Physical activity was assessed using a shortened version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Anthropometric measurements and body fat were also taken. Glycaemic status, that is, HbA1c, fasting blood sugar (FBS) and 2 hours post-prandial (2-HPP) were obtained from medical records. Results showed that the mean age of the patients was 51.9 + 5.8 years. The majority of patients had poor glycaemic control based on HbA1c (70.7%), FBS (71.9%) and 2HPP (85.4%). Patients who were unmarried and aged(60 years and above had a lower physical activity level (p< 0.05). In the older age group, low physical activity was associated with poor glycaemic control (p< 0.05). Patients in the moderate and high physical activity level were motivated to perform physical activity so as to be healthy (68.1%). Low physical activity level among patients was due to lack of time (54.5%) and lack of energy (21.2%). In conclusion, physical activity levels of the patients were unsatisfactory and associated with poor glycaemic control, especially in the elderly. There is a need to encourage diabetic patients to undertake regular physical activity in order to achieve optimal glycaemic control.
Study site: Klinik Kesihatan Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia