Introduction: Frailty is related to physical function, nutritional status, and cognition; however, these factors are rarely investigated comprehensively in a single study. Thus, this study aimed to examine the differences in nutritional, physical and cognitive function among frail, pre-frail and robust Malaysian elderly.
Methods: A total of 473 participants were randomly selected from ten different areas in Klang Valley by multistage random sampling. Frailty was characterised using the Fried criteria. Anthropometric measurements, diet intake, body composition, and physical and cognitive function were assessed. Kruskal Wallis test was employed to examine the relationship between the independent variables and frailty.
Results: Frail subjects had significant higher body mass index (26.8±4.4kg/m2 ) compared to pre-frail (25.7±4.4 kg/m2 ) and robust (24.9±3.9kg/ m2 ), (p
Introduction: Shellfish is likely to be contaminated with heavy metals brought about by various environmental factors such as climate change, bioaccumulation of environmental contaminants and imbalanced natural ecosystem.
Methods: Shellfish were selected for heavy metal detection as they are mainly consumed by the locals in Kudat. Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Nickel, and Plumbum (As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb) content in clam (Meretrix spp.), scallop (Amusium pleuronectes) and conch (Strombus canabrium) were determined by the US EPA 200.3 acid digestion method and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometer (ICP-MS). Risk assessment was calculated to assess the total exposure of heavy metals among the population of Kudat.
Results: Among all the heavy metals, studied, As was found to have the highest concentration and this was found in scallop with the concentration level being 18.93±5.30 μg/g compared to clam and conch. Estimated daily intake of the heavy metals by the population ranged from 0.60-6.82 g/ day/ kg for As, 0.02-1.58μg/day/kg for Cd, 0.37-0.94μg/day/kg for Cr, 0.16-0.61 g/day/ kg for Ni and 0.10-0.25μg/day/kg for Pb based on previous calculation to exposure. The hazard quotient of As and Cd in scallop was greater than 1.0. No acceptable exposure level for these shellfish has been previously reported. The rate of consumption of these metals did not exceed the standards prescribed in the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985.
Conclusion: Based on this study, it is concluded that the exposure to heavy metals risk from the consumption of these shellfish among the population in Kudat, Sabah is at an acceptable level.
Introduction: Validation of a culturally specific FFQ is important in assessing habitual dietary intake of ethnic population groups. This study aimed to assess the validity and reproducibility of a FFQ developed specifically for determining the dietary intake of Malaysian Punjabis.
Methods: Subjects were approached through voluntary participation for the development and validation phase in the Klang Valley. A list of foods consumed by participants (n=100) was documented through a 3-day dietary recall. The validation process was conducted by verifying the developed FFQ against another group of Punjabi adult volunteers (n=101) who kept a 2-day dietary record. Macronutrients, dietary fibre, fatty acids, cholesterol, three types of minerals (calcium, sodium, iron) and four vitamins (B12, folate, C, A) were included in the analysis. Reproducibility was shown with intraclass correlation (ICC) values between FFQ1 vs FFQ2 that were administered 6 months apart among 32 participants.
Results: In the validation study, the FFQ1 was found to have over-estimated almost all nutrients compared to those in the dietary records. The Spearman correlation coefficients for energy, carbohydrate, protein and fat intake based on the FFQ1 and 2-day dietary records were 0.54, 0.38, 0.47, and 0.31, respectively. The classification into the same and adjacent quartiles was between 61- 84% for the nutrients consumed. Bland Altman plots showed relatively good agreement (between ±2 standard deviation) for both the dietary methods used. Reproducibility analysis of ICC (FFQ1 vs FFQ2) was between 0.46-0.76 for macronutrients and 0.20-0.92 for micronutrients.
Conclusion: The developed FFQ could be used as a valid tool for assessing dietary intake of Malaysian Punjabis, as it showed a moderate agreement with dietary record for intake of energy and macronutrients.
Introduction: Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) play an important role in developing cognitive function in children, especially Docosahexanoic Acid (DHA). However, there is no suitable dietary assessment tool to assess DHA intake among Malaysian children. Thus, this study assessed the validity of an interviewer-administered semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) for estimating DHA intake among Malay school children in the Sepang District.
Methods: Thirty 12-year-old Malay children (13 boys and 17 girls) were recruited through purposive sampling. Their DHA intake for one month duration was assessed using a 30-food item FFQ and validated against a 3-day food record.
Results: The majority of the subjects (70%) had normal body mass index, 6.7% were overweight, 16.7% obese, whilst the rest were in the thin category. The reliability of FFQ was found to be good with a Cronbach’s α coefficient value of 0.815. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test indicated no significant difference in mean intake between the two assessment methods. Significant and strong correlation between FFQ and the 3-day food record was found for total omega-3 PUFAs (r=0.812)and DHA (r=0.839) using both methods. BlandAltman analysis exhibited no apparent systematic bias between the two methods for DHA and total omega-3 PUFAs intake, whilst a quartile analysis assigned 73.3% of the subjects into the same quartile.
Conclusion: The FFQ was found to be valid in estimating DHA intake among Malay school children, and it is recommended that its validity be tested on other ethnic population groups.
Introduction: The Temiar who ethnically belong to Senoi, one of the major groups of Orang Asli (indigenous people) in Peninsular Malaysia, have their own distinctive food taboos and avoidances during the postpartum period. These traditions are deeply rooted in their culture, customs, values and beliefs system.
Methods: A qualitative research method involving five focus group discussions were conducted to compare and contrast four different locations: the communities of Pos Tohoi, Pos Simpor, Rancangan Pengumpulan Semula Orang Asli (RPSOA) in Kelantan and the community at Batu 12 in Gombak, Selangor, representing different lifestyle experiences and food practices of Orang Asli Temiar in Peninsular Malaysia. All the transcripts were coded and categorised and then ‘thematised’ using the software package for handling qualitative data, NVivo 8.
Results: Despite variations in locations, there were five agreed prohibited food items during the postpartum period: cooking oil, salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, and meat from game or domesticated animals. Dietary restrictions begin immediately after childbirth and varied from seven, eight, and fourteen days to one month. Besides food restrictions, there were other prescribed avoidances for mothers after delivering a baby.
Conclusion: Prohibitions placed upon women during the postpartum period are intended to protect the new mother, the newborn baby and also the community. It appears that regardless of whether they live in the most traditional or the least traditional locations, the Temiar lineage and societal norms in the form of taboos during the female reproductive cycle are handed down to the new generation by their elders.
This is a cross-sectional study with the objective to determine the association between complaints Musculoskeletal Disorders
(MSDs) and mismatch of the seats in lecture hall of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), Universiti Putra Malaysia
(UPM). A total of 132 respondents whom were undergraduate students were involved in this study consist of 47 male and 85 female.
Eight anthropometric measurement (height, weight, popliteal height, buttock-popliteal height, shoulder height, subscapular height,
elbow height and hip width while sitting) as well as five (5) furniture parameter dimensions (seat height, seat depth, seat width,
upper edge backrest height and desk height) were taken. Instruments used were questionnaire modified from Nordic Musculoskeletal
Questionnaire, Martyn anthropometer set, measuring tape, height scale and weighing scale. Findings showed 51.5% mismatch of
seat height, 5.3% mismatch of seat depth, 94.7% mismatch of desk height and 18.2% mismatch of upper edge of back rest. For the
prevalence MSDs in the past seven (7) days, 61.4% reported low back pain followed by neck pain (50%) and upper back pain (43.9%).
There was significant difference between genders in anthropometric body measurement. Significant association were found between
MSDs and mismatch χ2 = 5.406, p < 0.05. In conclusion, there was an association between MSDs and ergonomics furniture of lecture
halls in FMHS, UPM. Based on the findings, it is recommended that in the event of long lecture hour, intermittent break should be
allowed for students to stretch, move or better yet assume different posture such as standing or walk.
An awareness of possible risk factor in pesticides, by changing attitude towards the correct technique during spraying and
changing behavior can increase safety of workers safety as well as performance. However, there is a limited study and not highlighted
deeply in knowledge, attitude and practices of workers in palm oil plantation issue. Therefore , the objective of this paper is to identify
the relationship between knowledge, attitude and practices of pesticides among the plantation workers. The quantitative method were
used in this paper whereby 132 respondents as pesticide sprayer which represent 90% of the population of palm oil workers in Johor.
The result of spearman correlation indicates that there is significant relationship between knowledge and practices. It shows the
common pattern of high knowledge resulting high practices of the workers during spraying the pesticides at plantation. There is no
relationship between knowledge and attitude and between attitude and practice of the workers at the workplace. This paper shows that
knowledge need to be strengthen in agricultural communities of Johor in order to reduce health problem and sosial issue statistic and
prevent for any future accident. Human exposure to pesticides is an important health and sosial issue as it usually results in serious
health problems such as stroke, epilepsy, respiratory disorders and cancer. Death has been known to occur in some places as a result
of exposures to pesticides. Therefore, more impact knowledge-focused programs need to be arranged and implemented to inculcate
the better awareness of pesticides among palm oil workers, as without knowledge, people may become less careful and therefore are
exposed to pesticide poisoning and other long term exposure illness in the future.
This study aims to investigate a visual status and prevalence of visual problems in relation to eye safety and health amongst
visual display terminal (VDT) users in industries. A visual profile questionnaire (VPQ) and visual tests were conducted on workers
from 9 type of industries aged 20 to 60 years old in between October 2015 and June 2016. Workers with a history of exposure to VDT
more than 2 hours a day were used as a baseline for recruitment. Respondents who did not complete the visual profile questionnaires
(VPQ) and visual tests were excluded from the study. A total of 1214 respondents with mean aged of 39.33 ± 9.80 years have completed
the study. Most respondents show moderate to high in vision problems in related to VDT, low knowledge on visual hazards and policy
in relation to eye safety and health at the workplace and high percentage of not getting proper eye tests while serving their industries.
Visual Profile (VP) is needed as a key indicator to profile eye safety measures and the need for policy to help prevent eye problems and
improve employees’ productivity at workplace.
In the electronic industry, prolonged standing works are sometimes required continuously for hours. The physical efforts
required lead to physiological and psychological fatigue resulting in reduced muscle performance. In order to recover from the muscle
exertion, one of the solutions is through the administrative control of a suitable work-rest schedule. In this study, two different workrest
conditions with identical total break time were investigated. An experiment was carried out when ten males’ workers were used
in each condition. The perception of the operator regarding to the body part discomfort were carried out by exploratory survey. Then,
Electromyography (EMG) was used to record the muscle fatigue of the participating workers throughout the experiment. Results
indicate infrequent-long rest promotes lesser muscle efforts compared to frequent short. The frequent short rest for 5 minutes (2X5
minutes) at first half of working day was not adequate to promote reduction on muscle fatigue. It was recommended that in order to
ensure adequate muscle recovery, a more frequent rest of more than 2 times at the half of day, and more than 5 minutes for each rest
should be given to workers.
Geographically, Malaysia is situated in the equatorial region, thus having a climate of hot and humid throughout the
year. Effect of heat stress and physical work load at construction industry need to be investigated because of the high number of
accidents. Thus, perception of physical workload and heat stress by the construction workers in Malaysia needed to be investigated
and documented. The aim of this paper is to establish a set of questionnaires containing the item generation regarding on physical
workload and the heat stress perception of construction workers. Physical workload factors such as fatigue, risks, concentration,
work rhythm, responsibility, satisfaction, and autonomy are inserted as the items in assessing the physical workload. While heat
stress are assessed using heat risk factors such as temperature, humidity, heat radiation, air movement, workload, clothing and
acclimatisation. A questionnaire has been developed resulted from various reviewing of literatures on physical workload and heat
stress and better suited to the Malaysia working environment.
MeSH terms: Accidents; Air Movements; Climate; Clothing; Hot Temperature; Humidity; Malaysia; Personal Satisfaction; Surveys and Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Temperature; Workload; Workplace; Heat Stress Disorders; Construction Industry
This study illustrates about the most hazardous and risky activities associated with well drilling operation at on and offshore
oil and gas drilling sites by adopting exploratory research design (quantitative leading to qualitative). In this study researcher has
targeted three oil and gas industries each from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan for the identification of associated hazards
and nature of hazardous activities faced by drilling crew during well drilling operation. Eighty (80) drilling crew members have
been randomly selected for answering the survey questionnaire. Likewise, nine (09) drilling health and safety officials have been
conveniently selected based on their safety expertise in oil and gas drilling field for semi structured in-depth interview. For analyzing
quantitative findings descriptive statistical methods has been used. While for qualitative section thematic analysis approach has
been utilized. Based on the findings, respondents from Malaysian oil and gas industries reported starting drilling activity as highly
hazardous at onshore well drilling, while handling drilling pipe has been considered more hazardous activity at offshore domain.
Similarly, in the context of Saudi Arabia, respondents highlighted that the handling drilling pipes are cause of major injuries at onshore
well drilling site. Whereas drilling fluid preparation and coring process is considered harmful at offshore sites. In contrast, participant
from Pakistan indicated coring process as a highly hazardous activity at on and offshore well drilling operation. According to overall
results based on the participant response, oil and gas well drilling operation at onshore domain is considered more hazardous
at Pakistani oil and gas industry as compare to other targeted industries with mean range 3.42. While for offshore well drilling,
Malaysian industry is recorded highly hazardous as compare to others leading with mean value 3.39 and related with chemical and
safety hazards in well drilling activities.
MeSH terms: Oil and Gas Industry; Industry; Malaysia; Pakistan; Surveys and Questionnaires; Risk; Saudi Arabia; Oil and Gas Fields
The aim of this paper is to identify, review and carry out comparison to seven guidelines where the main focus is on its risk
assessment elements related to confined space activities. This is due to lack of the specific approach of the Legislation for confined
space such as entry procedure requirements, risk assessment method, existing practice of risk assessment is too general and additional
references are required for conducting risk assessment which would lead to poor response from industries. The selected guidelines will
be summarized on its requirements, followed by a review of each guideline and finally the comparison of Legislations will be carried
out. The results from the study would be used as a contribution factor to promote an ideal method in developing an effective risk
assessment tools for working safely in confined space. Furthermore, several literatures which have been referred could give additional
input for developing the risk assessment tools.
The frequency of occupational accident in small medium industries decreased from 2008 in general, but fluctuated each year,
which shows that improvement is needed in handling safety and health of the employees. It is believed that safety climate perception
and occupational safety health management system (OSHMS) influence occupational accident in an organization. A safety audit
checklist and self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the involved small medium industries. The findings show that safety
climate perception was high in small medium industries while OSHMS show low compliance. Findings also showed that there were
significant relationships between safety climate perception and OSHMS with occupational accident in the organizations (p
Workplace accident is still prevalent in the Malaysian industry sector. Although statistics indicates that the number of
accidents in the workplace is showing signs of decrease over the last five years, there is still room for improvements. According to
report, a majority of the workplace accidents in Malaysia happened in Small and Medium Enterprise (SME). This shows that SME is
still lagging behind in ensuring the safety of their workplace. This can disrupt their business activities as workplace accidents bring
several negative effects. Therefore, this study explores the use of safety training to foster safety behaviour among employees. Surveys
were distributed to employees working in SME, Northern Corridor of Economic Region (NCER). The data was analysed and results
were presented. Suggestions to management in SME are made at the end of the paper.
The construction industry is one of the largest sectors in Malaysia. This industry has become one of the main contributors
for national economic development and consistently contributes 3% to 5% to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This
sector has also opened up job opportunities for various levels of employment. High demands and rapid urbanization offer huge
opportunities for registered contractors. Despite contributing in enhancing national economics, this sector has been regarded as one
of the most dangerous and hazardous workplaces due to the type of nature and the job activities at construction sites. According to
the International Labour Organization (ILO), 2.3 million fatalities related to occupational accidents and illnesses are estimated to
occur each year. Furthermore, 4 percent of world GDP is estimated to be lost due to occupational accidents and illnesses. The number
of fatality accidents in the construction industry was the highest with 652 cases of non-permanent disability (NPD) and permanent
disability (PD) accidents in the period 2007 to 2015, equivalent to 72.44 cases per year and representing 48.77% of the construction
industry. The huge gap between the number of accidents reported to SOCSO and DOSH becomes a major concern due to a rising
number of underreported cases of fatalities and injury in the construction sector, especially those involving foreign labour. The margin
between accidents reported to SOCSO and DOSH is 97.49%. Regards to rapid developments, safety measures to improve performance
management of OSH should be emphasized to reduce losses of life, property and productivity.
MeSH terms: Accidents, Occupational; Employment; Labor Unions; Malaysia; Urbanization; Workplace; Economic Development; Gross Domestic Product; Construction Industry
Construction industry is one of the major contributors towards Malaysian economy and socio-economy. It is an important
industry gearing Malaysia towards developed nation status. However, fatalities in this industry are a crucial problem. Number of
fatalities in this industry is the highest compare to other industries registered in Malaysia. The contributing factors can be separated
into immediate (human and worksite elements) and underlying (management and external). Occupational safety and health (OSH)
management is a challenge in the construction industry due to its hazardous nature. A framework of construction OSH management
consisting of policy, process, personnel and incentive elements were tested. 13 respondents from 13 residential projects comprising of
high-rise and low-rise in Pulau Pinang were interviewed. It was found that the immediate factors are being more recognized by the
respondents compare to the underlying factors. Human element is perceived as the most significant contributor, while the external
element is the least significant. In terms of construction OSH management, process and personnel elements are the most significant in
developing an effective OSH management programme.
MeSH terms: Humans; Malaysia; Motivation; Perception; Surveys and Questionnaires; Occupational Health; Workplace; Developed Countries; Policy; Construction Industry
Introduction: Workers in hospitals are exposed to various occupational hazards such as high level disinfectants (HLD).
Disinfection is an essential component of the endoscope reprocessing. In the Endoscopy Unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital,
Succindialdehyde (SA) is used as the disinfectant for endoscope reprocessing. SA has properties that are similar to formaldehyde
in regard to contact allergies and toxicity. The purpose of this case study is to describe the occurrence of work related symptoms
(WRS), the proper use of personal protective attire (PPE) and the need of pre-employment health enquiries for those exposed to SA.
Methodology: This was a cross sectional case study. Twenty eight gastrointestinal assistants (GIA) from the thirty two exposed staff
working with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Endoscopy Unit, who fulfilled the study criteria, were given a modified Respiratory
Surveillance Questionnaire. This questionnaireis used as the health surveillance tool for the staff exposed to the occupational
respiratory hazard by the Occupational Health Unit, University of Edinburgh. Results: Most of the GIAs complained of headache
(85.7%), skin irritations (60.7%) followed by 57.1% watery eyes, wheeziness and runny nose. Majority (92.9%) of the GIAs wore
personal protective equipment (PPE) during the disinfection procedure. Pre-employment enquiries regarding asthma, skin and
mucosal sensitivity problems and lung function were not made to any of the GIAs. Only 14.3% of them do annual health surveillances.
Conclusion: Most of the GIAs, 92.9% experienced at least one WRS despite wearing PPE. Staff exposed to the chemical disinfectants
should wear proper PPE and do annual health surveillances. By practising this, we may avoid WRS and treat the staff accordingly.
Indoor air quality (IAQ) can be described as the quality of air weather inside or surrounding the buildings and structures
which are associated with the health and comfort ability of occupants in the buildings. The level of IAQ in buildings can be influenced
by microbial contaminants activities, chemicals exposure and allergens that seriously can create health effects to the building’s
occupants. In the present study, the effect of environmental factors such as temperature and relative humidity on the optimum growth
of Aspergillus niger (A. niger) was investigated. The study revealed that the optimal fungal growth of up 43mm in diameter was
evidenced under room temperature of 30oC at the end of a five day incubation period. However, the relative humidity from 40% to 90%
applied is able to support the growth of the A.niger. The relative humidity of 90% shows the optimal effect where 56 mm of diameter
growth happened after 5 days of incubation. The significant finding to emerge from this study is that environmental factors such as
temperature and relative humidity do affect the growth of A.niger. The optimal temperature and relative humidity for A.niger to grow
are 30oC and 90%, respectively.
The cultivation of indoor plants in indoor environment has become a topic of interest among researchers worldwide for its
potential to improve indoor air quality (IAQ). However, the adaptations of environmental factor of each plant need to be investigated
to correspond with the native environment. The study investigate the capability of plants selected to live indoor. Before experiment was
conducted, all plants selected were assimilated with indoor environment for two months. Photosynthesis proses in this experiment will
be a guidance to determine the comparative for every plant. The portable photosynthesis system equipment (LI-COR 6400) was used to
determine the level of photosynthesis rate for each of plants. Accordingly, among of all plants tested, Spider Plant showed less effective
to be grown with indoor environment by the rate of photosynthesis value up to -0.15. Moreover, light compensation point (LCP) of
Spider Plant also indicated the light intensity consumption was 2960 lux which is extremely higher than 300 lux. As a conclusion, only
six plants in this study which are Anthurium, Dumb Cane, Golden Pothos, Kadaka Fern, Prayer Plant, and Syngonium are able to
survive with indoor environment. In the next stage of study, this six plants may give good results to enhance the IAQ.
Students’ knowledge, attitude and practice towards safety and health are one of the important aspects of their learning
process in school. Negligence of this aspect can increase the risk of accidents among students. This study was conducted to assess the
level of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of students toward safety and health aspects in school. This study was participated
by 410 Form Four students that were randomly selected. They are from SMK Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah 1 (SARS1), SMK Taman
Dato’ Harun (SMKTDH) and SMK Agama Sheikh Hj. Mohd Said (SHAMS). Questionnaire used consists of demographic components,
knowledge, attitude and practice items towards safety and health aspects. Majority of the respondents are female students (58.3%)
while the rest are male students (41.7%). Higher percentage of respondents are from SMKTDH (59.5%) followed by SHAMS (24.1%)
and SARS1 (16.3%). This study found that the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of students toward safety and health aspects
in school are high. The mean score of all knowledge, attitude and practice items in the questionnaire are 4.29±0.40, 4.07±0.46,
and 4.13±0.48, respectively. In addition, this study found that the school factors are significantly associated with student’s attitude
and practice, while the gender factor is only significantly associated with student’s attitude towards safety and health in school.
Meanwhile, correlation analysis showed a significant relationship between student’s knowledge, attitude and practice (p