MyMedR

Fulltext Health literacy and food beliefs among Ibans, Sarawak

Yap SB

Med J Malaysia, 1985 Dec;40(4):294-300.

A morbidity survey was carried out on a sample of eight longhouses in the Entabai area of the Sixth Division, Sarawak. Of the 645 respondents interviewed, only 148 (22.9%) had experienced at least one spell of illness during the one month prior to the survey.A total of 161 spells of illness was reported, giving a rate of three spells per person per year for the community. Most of the complaints were mild in nature, with fever and aches being the commonest reported. About two thirds of the illnesses were seen by the village aide or at the klinik desa, while the remaining preferred to be treated by the manang. A sub-sample of 49 heads of household were interviewed on their views of the causation, prevention and spread offive common conditions. About 14-43% of the respondents had no knowledge of the causes of fever, cough, diarrhoea or worms. Among those who mentioned some causative factors, only a portion had correct concepts of the various aspects of diseases. Food taboos associated with the five conditions were not too numerous or extensive enough to affect dietary intakes. However, this is not so during the post-partum period where the mother is not allowed to eat many vegetables and meat which are common items in their everyday diets.

Fulltext A study of the prevalence of endemic goitre in an inland Iban community, Sarawak

Yap SB

Med J Malaysia, 1985 Sep;40(3):243-6.

PMID: 3842720

Eight longhouses were selected randomly for a goitre survey in the Entabai area of the Sixth Division, Sarawak. 645 subjects were examined and a goitre prevalence of 46.4% (15 years and above) was found. The females had a higher rate of 69.5% as compared with their male counterparts with 24.4%. Below the age of 15 years, prevalence was low and there was not much difference between the two sexes. After the age of 15 years, the prevalence among the females
increased from 40% to almost 80% by the age of 25 years. The males, on the other hand, showed a decrease in prevalence after the age of 15 years and levelled off at about 30%. The females also had much larger goitres than males. About 43% of the households surveyed consumed iodised salt but the rates tend to fluctuate according to supplies. There was however no direct correlation between goitre prevalence and consumption of iodised salt.

Fulltext The nutritional status of Iban preschool children, Sarawak

Yap SB

Med J Malaysia, 1985 Sep;40(3):185-90.

PMID: 3879878

An anthropometric study and dietary investigations were conducted in an Iban community in the Sixth Division of Sarawak. 140 children aged 0 to 6 years, were assessed anthropometrically. Their mean weights and heights were much lower than those of their counterparts in Singapore. 7% of the children were nutritional dwarfs while about 68% were either wasted or wasted as well as stunted. Rice was the staple food in the community while other foods were considered unnecessary. Child feeding practices also reflected this dependancy on rice leading to a toddler diet which is mainly carbohydrate in nature. The dietary assessment showed a quantitative adequacy of energy as well as protein, a [inding whicn does not reflect the seasonal fluctuations with periods of hunger. The predominant contribution from rice resulted in protein intakes which were qualitatively deficient.

An epidemiological survey of recurrent abdominal pain in a rural Malay school

Boey CC, Yap SB

J Paediatr Child Health, 1999 Jun;35(3):303-5.

PMID: 10404456

OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of complaints of recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) among school children aged 11-12 years in a rural setting in Malaysia.

METHODOLOGY: Questionnaires were distributed to all parents and teachers of children aged 11-12 years who attended a small rural school in which all the children were Malays. Complaints of RAP were defined as at least three such complaints occurring over a period of at least 3 months.

RESULTS: One hundred and sixty questionnaires were distributed, of which 148 were returned, giving a response rate of 92.5%. Sixty-one children (41.2%) had RAP. Approximately 45.2% of girls and 35.9% of boys reported having RAP. Compared with children without RAP, there was a significantly larger number of children with RAP (85.2%) who had at least one stress factor (P = 0.0109). There were no significant associations between RAP and total family income (P = 0.0573), a history of abdominal pain in at least one parent (P = 0.1686), a history of abdominal pain in at least one sibling (P = 0.0617), academic performance (P = 0.9967) or the degree of sports participation (P = 0.8469). There was an increased incidence of other systemic complaints in children with RAP when compared with children without RAP.

CONCLUSION: Recurrent abdominal pain was found to be common among 11- to 12-year-old children in a rural Malay school. There was a significant association found between RAP and the presence of stressful events, as well as with the presence of other systemic complaints.

Fulltext The prevalence of endemic goitre among Penans of the Baram

Chen PC, Yap SB

Med J Malaysia, 1988 Jun;43(2):159-61.

PMID: 3266288

The nutritional status of children in an urban squatter community in Malaysia

Yap SB, Teoh ST

Asia Pac J Public Health, 1989;3(4):297-300.

PMID: 2517875

An anthropometric assessment was conducted on a sample of 309 children, aged twelve years and below, from an urban squatter community in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The community consists mainly of Malays and Indians and is fairly established with a mean length of residence of about fifteen years. There was not much difference between the two ethnic groups with regard to educational status or income. Most of the residents were unskilled or semiskilled workers employed in factories and government agencies. About 40 percent of the infants and toddlers were found to be wasted, while about one-third of the older children were stunted. There appears to be some association between income per capita and nutritional status.

Intestinal parasitism among Penan children of the Upper Baram, Sarawak

Kan SP, Yap SB, Yap PL

Asia Pac J Public Health, 1987;1(1):38-41.

PMID: 3452378

Fulltext A study on the food and nutritional status of the Armed Forces

Chong YH, Tee ES, Ng TKW, Yap SB, Mok SK

Med J Malaysia, 1982 Mar;37(1):46-51.

PMID: 7121346

The nutritional status of 158 soldiers drawn from four army camps in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang has been assessed by biochemical procedures, nutritional anthropometry and dietary (chemical) analysis. Biochemical assessment showed that with the exception of thiamin and riboflavin nutriture, the nutritional status of the soldiers appeared generally satisfactory and seemed to have improved slightly over those examined by the Inter-Departmental Committee on Nutrition and National Defence (ICNND), USA, in 1962 by similar methods. The anthropometric assessment indicated that the present day soldiers have the same mean height as those examined in 1962. Although they appeared slightly heavier, obesity did not seem to be a problem. Chemical analysis of their diet showed that there is room for improvement in the dietary supply of vitamin A and some of the water-soluble vitamins, particularly riboflavin, thiamin and vitamin C. There was also a significant discrepancy between the nutritional content of the chemically-analysed cooked meals and those calculated from the ration scales using Food Composition Tables, suggesting a need to review the current system of food supply,
preparation and food sertnce unthin army camps in
Malaysia.

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