METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of stroke survivors attending post-stroke care clinics in three public hospitals in the states of Pahang and Terengganu, Malaysia. The HRQoL was assessed by EuroQol-5 dimension-5 levels. Data on socio-demographic, clinical profiles, malnutrition risk, and physical activity level were collected through an interviewer-administered survey. Descriptive analyses for HRQoL profiles and multiple logistic regression analyses for its associated factors were performed. Crude and adjusted odds ratios were reported.
RESULTS: A total of 366 stroke survivors were recruited with a mean age of 59 ± 11 years. The most -commonly reported health problems were mobility (85%), followed by usual activities (82%), pain/discomfort (63%), anxiety/depression (51%) and self-care (41%). The mean of the EQ visual analogue scale and the median of the EQ5D summary index was reported at 60.3 ± 14.2 and 0.67 ± 0.37, respectively. Malnutrition risk (mobility, usual activities, and self-care), wheelchair users (self-care and usual activities), speech impairment (usual activities and pain/discomfort), number of stroke episodes (self-care and pain/discomfort), body mass index, physical activity level and types of strokes (usual activities), age and use of a proxy (anxiety/depression), working and smoking status (mobility), were factors associated with either single or multiple dimensions of HRQoL.
CONCLUSION: Routine malnutrition screening, tailored program for speech therapy, prevention of recurrent stroke, and physical activity promotion should be addressed and further reinforced in current rehabilitation interventions to improve the HRQoL among stroke survivors in Malaysia.
Methods: Post-stroke patients who attended the outpatient clinics in three hospitals of Peninsular Malaysia were enrolled in the study. The risk of malnutrition was assessed using the Malnutrition Risk Screening Tool-Hospital. Data including demographic characteristics, clinical profiles, dietary nutrients intake, body mass index (BMI) and hand grip strength were collected during the survey. The crude odds ratio (OR) and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) were reported for univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, respectively.
Results: Among 398 patients included in the study, 40% were classified as high-risk for malnutrition. In the multivariable logistic regression, tube feeding (AOR: 13.16, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.22-53.77), loss of appetite (AOR: 8.15, 95% CI: 4.71-14.12), unemployment (AOR: 4.26, 95% CI: 1.64-11.12), wheelchair-bound (AOR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.22-4.09) and BMI (AOR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.82-0.93) were found to be significant predictors of malnutrition risk among stroke patients.
Conclusion: The risk of malnutrition is highly prevalent among post-stroke patients. Routine nutritional screening, identification of risk factors, and continuous monitoring of dietary intake and nutritional status are highly recommended even after the stroke patient is discharged.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 95 breast cancer survivors (age 53.7 ± 7.6 years) who have completed main cancer treatments for ≥6 months. Cancer survivors were recruited from two main government hospitals in Kelantan and Terengganu using a purposive sampling method.
RESULTS: According to the Harmonized criteria, the metabolic syndrome prevalence was 50.5%. Among those with metabolic syndrome, the most prevalent abnormal metabolic components were triglycerides (91.2%), fasting blood glucose (79.6%) and HDL-c level (78.4%). Except for total cholesterol and LDL-c, all other metabolic syndrome components were significantly different (p
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 30 students and staff of a public university in Terengganu, Malaysia using convenience sampling. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS 23.0.
RESULTS: Among the respondents (age = 26.17 ± 8.23 years; female = 66.7%; students = 63.3%), 40.0% were overweight and 60.0% were obese. Results indicated excellent feasibility as determined by participants' satisfaction towards the clarity of hypnotherapist's voice (93.3%), the suitability of content (86.7%) and time spent for the session (90.0%). Good overall acceptability (>60.0%) was also reported regarding hypnotherapist professionalism, the environment and perceived usefulness of hypnotherapy. Obese individuals were significantly more satisfied towards the hypnotherapist environment than overweight respondents (p=0.015). Additionally, no adverse effects were reported after the intervention.
CONCLUSIONS: This evidence signalled that hypnotherapy is a promising alternative tool in assisting overweight and obese individuals to lose weight. Extensive research is needed to substantiate its role in weight management programs for its full benefits.
AIM: The main objective of this study is to assess the knowledge level of medical students at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) regarding the emergence of HMPX. Additionally, the study aims to investigate potential associations between socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge levels, while also identifying factors that predict a high level of knowledge in this context..
METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among UniSZA undergraduatemedical students from Year 1 to Year 5. A validated questionnaire comprising six socio-demographic variables and 27 knowledge items was shared online. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests and multivariate logistic regression were performed using SPSS software.
RESULTS: A total of 138 medical students out of 300 participated in this study. Overall, the average knowledge score was 73.95% ±4.43, which indicates that the medical students have moderate knowledge level. Nearly half of them had good knowledge level (n= 68; 49.3%), 43 of them had moderate knowledge level (31.2%), and 27 of them had poor knowledge level (19.6%). There was a significant association between knowledge level and two factors: receiving information on HMPX during their education and seniority (P-value < 0.01 and P-value < 0.05, respectively). Besides, received information on HMPX during their education was a significant predicting factor of good knowledge level (P-value = 0.002).
CONCLUSION: The knowledge level among the medical students was relatively inadequate.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey involving patients on dialysis in a tertiary hospital was conducted from July 2020 to September 2020. Demographic data were collected using a predesigned questionnaire. QOL was measured using the 36-item KDQOL questionnaire, and statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 25.
RESULTS: Of the 108 patients, 59 were men and 49 were women, and the mean age was 48.15 ± 15.4 years. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the mean score of all components of health-related quality of life in different types of dialysis. The demographic data, which included age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, education level, occupation, and monthly income, did not significantly affect the QOL of dialysis patients. Patients with a dialysis duration of more than 5 years had a better QOL compared to other groups. Laboratory parameters such as low albumin and low hemoglobin showed a significant correlation with the health-related quality of life of dialysis patients.
CONCLUSION: The quality of life among patients on dialysis was impaired, especially in terms of burden of the kidney disease. Hypoalbuminemia and anemia were the two factors that influenced QOL.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving 83 breast cancer survivors was carried out in two main government referral hospitals in the region. Participants wore the ActivPAL3™ microdevice physical activity monitor for seven consecutive days. The validated European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30) and Breast Cancer Supplementary Measure (EORTC QLQ-BR23) were used to measure their HRQoL. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour with HRQoL.
RESULTS: Longer time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was significantly associated with an improvement of HRQoL (p = 0.039) whereas longer time spent on sedentary behaviour significantly reduced the functioning score (p = 0.005). In addition, prolonged sedentary bouts were also significantly associated with better body image that led to improved HRQoL (p = 0.013).
CONCLUSIONS: The study findings suggest that an increase in the time spent on MVPA was associated with improved HRQoL while sedentary behaviour was associated with poorer HRQoL among breast cancer survivors. Thus, it is essential to displace sedentary behaviour with MVPA to improve the quality of life of breast cancer survivors.