Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted via phone interview using a structured questionnaire in patients with RD aged > 18 years old scheduled for clinic appointments from 4 to 28 May 2020, which coincided with the second wave of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia. The questionnaire included demographics, COVID-19 screening questions, depression and anxiety symptoms screening using questions derived from the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2).
Results: Among the 361 patients enrolled, the majority were females (83.1%), and over half (54.3%) were ethnic Malays, 41.6% had rheumatoid arthritis, 34.6% had systemic lupus erythematosus, 12.2% had spondyloarthropathy, and only one (0.3%) patient had COVID-19 infection. The mean age of patients was 48.2 years (range: 16-80 years). The frequency of patients with depression and anxiety symptoms was 8.6% and 6.9%, respectively. Married patients reported feeling more anxious (p =0.013), while patients with tertiary education levels reported feeling more depressed (p =0.012).
Conclusions: The incidence of COVID-19 infection is low, probably due to the low rate of testing. Depression and anxiety symptoms reported by patients in our cohort were modest. Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has a greater impact on married patients with RD and those with a higher education level.
Method: All serologically confirmed dengue patients in Kelantan, a northeastern state in Malaysia, registered in the eDengue system with an onset of disease from January 2016 to December 2018, were included in the study with the exclusion of duplicate entry. Using a generalized additive model, climate data collected from the Kota Bharu weather station (latitude 6°10'N, longitude 102°18'E) was analysed with dengue data.
Result: A cyclical pattern of dengue cases was observed with annual peaks coinciding with the intermonsoon period. Our analysis reveals that maximum temperature, mean temperature, rainfall, and wind speed have a significant nonlinear effect on dengue cases in Kelantan. Our model can explain approximately 8.2% of dengue incidence variabilities.
Conclusion: Weather variables affect nearly 10% of the dengue incidences in Northeast Malaysia, thereby making it a relevant variable to be included in a dengue early warning system. Interventions such as vector control activities targeting the intermonsoon period are recommended.
METHODS: PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for published studies from 2010 to 2020. Searches were conducted by using the relevant country of interest as a search term (e.g. "Iran"), as well as relevant predefined keywords such as "cannabis", "marijuana", "hashish", "bhang "dual diagnosis", "use", "addiction", "prevalence", "co-morbidity", "substance use disorder", "legalization" or "policy" (English and non-English). These keywords were used in multiple combinations to create the search string in studies records' titles and abstracts. Official websites of respective governments and international organizations were also searched in English and non-English (national language country) languages to identify the current state of cannabis use, policies, and research in each of those countries.
RESULTS: Inconsistent and heterogeneous reporting of cannabis use, variation in policies (e.g., legalization), and intervention strategies across the reviewed countries were the main findings. European countries have dominated cannabis research output in PubMed, as compared to Asian countries (Thailand, Malaysia, India, Iran and Nepal).
CONCLUSIONS: Although global cannabis regulation is ongoing, the existing heterogeneities across countries in terms of policies and epidemiology can increase the burden of cannabis use disorders disproportionately and unpredictably. There is an urgent need to develop global strategies to address these cross-country barriers to improve early detection, prevention, and interventions for cannabis use and related disorders.
DESIGN: The specific role of the stromal and the immune components in oral cancer was reviewed with a tailored search strategy using relevant keywords. The articles were retrieved from bibliometric databases indexed in PubMed, Scopus, and Embase. An in silico analysis was performed to identify potential drug candidates for immunotherapy, by accessing the Drug-Gene Interactions Database (DGIdb) using the rDGIdb package.
RESULTS: There is compelling evidence for the role of the cellular and extracellular components of the tumour microenvironment in inducing immunosuppression and progression of oral cancer. The druggable candidates specifically targeting the immune system are a viable option in the treatment of oral cancer as they can regulate the tumour microenvironment.
CONCLUSION: A complex interaction between the tumour and the immunological microenvironment influences the disease outcome in oral cancer. Targeting specific components of the immune system might be relevant, as immunotherapy may become the new standard of care for oral cancer.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The China Kadoorie Biobank recruited 512,891 adults (59% women) aged 30-79 from 10 regions of China during 2004-2008. At baseline survey, and subsequent resurveys of a random subset of survivors, participants were interviewed and measurements collected, including on-site RPG testing. Cause of death was ascertained via linkage to local mortality registries. Cox regression yielded adjusted HR for all-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with usual levels of RPG.
RESULTS: During median 11 years' follow-up, 37,214 deaths occurred among 452,993 participants without prior diagnosed diabetes or other chronic diseases. There were positive log-linear relationships between RPG and all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD) (n=14,209) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) (n=432) mortality down to usual RPG levels of at least 5.1 mmol/L. At RPG <11.1 mmol/L, each 1.0 mmol/L higher usual RPG was associated with adjusted HRs of 1.14 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.16), 1.16 (1.12 to 1.19) and 1.44 (1.22 to 1.70) for all-cause, CVD and CKD mortality, respectively. Usual RPG was positively associated with chronic liver disease (n=547; 1.45 (1.26 to 1.66)) and cancer (n=12,680; 1.12 (1.09 to 1.16)) mortality, but with comparably lower risks at baseline RPG ≥11.1 mmol/L. These associations persisted after excluding participants who developed diabetes during follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: Among Chinese adults without diabetes, higher RPG levels were associated with higher mortality risks from several major diseases, with no evidence of apparent thresholds below the cut-points for diabetes diagnosis.