MyMedR

Are Malaysian Children Achieving Dietary Guideline Recommendations?

Koo HC, Poh BK, Lee ST, Chong KH, Bragt MC, Abd Talib R, et al.

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2016 07;28(5 Suppl):8S-20S.

PMID: 27073200 DOI: 10.1177/1010539516641504

A large body of epidemiological data has demonstrated that diet quality follows a sociodemographic gradient. Little is known, however, about food group intake patterns among Malaysian children. This study aimed to assess consumption pattern of 7 food groups, including cereals/grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat/poultry, and milk/dairy products, among children 7 to 12 years of age. A total of 1773 children who participated in SEANUTS Malaysia and who completed the Food Frequency Questionnaire were included in this study. A greater proportion of children aged 10 to 12 years have an inadequate intake of cereals/grains, meat/poultry, legumes, and milk/dairy products compared with children 7 to 9 years old. With the exception of meat/poultry, food consumption of Malaysian children did not meet Malaysian Dietary Guidelines recommendations for the other 6 food groups, irrespective of sociodemographic backgrounds. Efforts are needed to promote healthy and balanced dietary habits, particularly for foods that fall short of recommended intake level.

Matched MeSH terms: Malaysia

Association between adherence to 24-h movement guidelines and sociodemographic factors among Malaysian preschoolers: Findings from SEANUTS II Malaysia

Joan C, Koh D, Wong JE, Khouw I, Poh BK, SEANUTS II Malaysia Study Group

Am J Hum Biol, 2024 Mar 28.

PMID: 38548924 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24076

BACKGROUND: Adhering to 24-h movement guidelines (24-hMG) have health benefits for young children; yet research on Malaysian preschoolers' movement behaviors is limited. This study investigates the association between adherence to 24-hMG and sociodemographic factors of Malaysian preschoolers.

METHODS: Data from 939 preschoolers aged 3-6 years (mean age = 4.83 ± 0.04 years, 53.7% boys) from the Second South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS II) Malaysia study was analyzed. Socio-demography, physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and sleep were parent-reported via questionnaire. Associations between adherence of 24-hMG and sociodemographic factors were analyzed using complex samples logistic regression.

RESULTS: Only 12.1% of preschoolers adhered to the overall 24-hMG, and 67.1%, 54.7%, and 42.7% of preschoolers adhered to physical activity, sleep, and sedentary behavior guidelines, respectively; while 6.8% did not meet any guidelines. Compared to 3-4-year olds, preschoolers aged 5-6 years had higher odds of adhering to physical activity guidelines, sedentary behavior guidelines, and overall 24-hMG, but lower odds of adhering to sleep guidelines. Chinese and Indian preschoolers were more likely to adhere to sedentary behavior guidelines than Malay preschoolers; however, Chinese preschoolers had lower odds of adhering to physical activity guidelines. Paternal tertiary education was associated with a higher likelihood of adherence to sleep guidelines.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that adherence to 24-hMG among Malaysian preschoolers is associated with age, ethnicity, and paternal education level. This underscores the importance of targeted interventions and health awareness program to promote healthy movement behaviors, particularly among children under 5, ethnic minorities, and educationally disadvantaged families.

Association of Eating Behavior With Nutritional Status and Body Composition in Primary School-Aged Children

Tay CW, Chin YS, Lee ST, Khouw I, Poh BK, SEANUTS Malaysia Study Group

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2016 07;28(5 Suppl):47S-58S.

PMID: 27252248 DOI: 10.1177/1010539516651475

Problematic eating behaviors during childhood may lead to positive energy balance and obesity. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the association of eating behaviors with nutritional status and body composition in Malaysian children aged 7 to 12 years. A total of 1782 primary schoolchildren were randomly recruited from 6 regions in Malaysia. The multidimensional Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) was reported by parents to determine the 8 different dimensions of eating styles among children. Body mass index (BMI), BMI-for-age Z-score, waist circumference, and body fat percentage were assessed. Linear regression analyses revealed that both food responsiveness and desire to drink subscales were positively associated with a child's body adiposity, whereas satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating, and emotional undereating subscales were negatively associated with adiposity (all P < .05). A multidimensional eating style approach based on the CEBQ is needed to promote healthy eating behaviors in order to prevent excessive weight gain and obesity problems among Malaysian children.

Matched MeSH terms: Malaysia/epidemiology

Ayisha Begum v. Hajiah Maideen, 21 June 1988

Malaysia. Syariah Court Appeal Board

Annu Rev Popul Law, 1988;15:66.

PMID: 12289650

The Court held that, in determining whether to authorize a Muslim man to take a second wife under Rule 11 of the Malaysia Muslim Marriage and Divorce Rules 1968, an objective test, rather than a subjective test, should be used. It ruled that, whether "a husband is competent to support more than one wife and will be able, if he marries more than one wife, to treat them with equity in accordance with the Muslim law" should be established by objective evidence, not merely by a husband's statement that he can support both wives and will treat them equitably. The Court allowed the appeal of the wife of the respondent against a decision of the Registrar of Muslim Marriages to allow the respondent to take a second wife.

Matched MeSH terms: Malaysia

Benchmarking Diet Quality to Assess Nutritional Risk in Hemodialysis Patients: Applying Adequacy and Moderation Metrics of the Hemodialysis-Healthy Eating Index

Sualeheen A, Khor BH, Balasubramanian GV, Sahathevan S, Chinna K, Mat Daud ZA, et al.

J Ren Nutr, 2022 Nov;32(6):726-738.

PMID: 35182714 DOI: 10.1053/j.jrn.2022.02.002

OBJECTIVES: This study modified Healthy Eating Index (HEI) based on hemodialysis (HD)-specific nutritional guidelines and investigated associations between the diet quality (DQ) and nutritional risk in HD patients.

METHODS: The HD-HEI tool adapted the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2010 framework according to HD-specific nutrition guidelines. This HD-HEI was applied to 3-day dietary records of 382 HD patients. Relationships between HD-HEI scores and nutritional parameters were tested by partial correlations. Binary logistic regression models adjusted with confounders were used to determine adjusted odds ratio (adjOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for nutritional risk based on HD-HEI scores categorization.

RESULTS: The total HD-HEI score (51.3 ± 10.2) for this HD patient population was affected by ethnicity (Ptrend < .001) and sex (P = .003). No patient achieved "good" DQ (score: 81-100), while DQ of 54.5% patients were classified as "needs improvement" (score: 51-80) and remaining as "poor" (score: 0-51). Total HD-HEI scores were positively associated with dietary energy intake (DEI), dietary protein intake (DPI), dry weight, and handgrip strength, but inversely associated with Dietary Monotony Index (DMI) (all P

Breast cancer in a multi-ethnic Asian setting: results from the Singapore-Malaysia hospital-based breast cancer registry

Bhoo-Pathy N, Yip CH, Taib NA, Hartman M, Saxena N, Iau P, et al.

Breast, 2011 Apr;20 Suppl 2:S75-80.

PMID: 21316967 DOI: 10.1016/j.breast.2011.01.015

Two hospital-based breast cancer databases (University Malaya Medical Center, Malaysia [n = 1513] and National University Hospital, Singapore [n = 2545]) were merged into a regional registry of breast cancer patients diagnosed between 1990 and 2007. A review of the data found 51% of patients diagnosed before the age of 50 years. and 72% percent of the women were Chinese followed by Malays (16%), Indians (8%), and other races (4%). Median tumor size at presentation was 26 mm and about 25% of patients presented with TNM stage III or IV disease. Most tumors were of ductal histology (87%). Fifty-seven percent of tumors were estrogen receptor positive and 40% were poorly differentiated. Of those patients who had surgery, 70% had mastectomy while 30% had breast conserving surgery. Overall, chemotherapy was administered to 56% of patients and hormonal treatment to 60%. Five-year overall survival was 82.5% in patients with TNM stage 0 to stage II cancer, and 30.2% in those with later stages.

Matched MeSH terms: Malaysia

Clinical usefulness of tumour markers

Lai LC, Cheong SK, Goh KL, Leong CF, Loh CS, Lopez JB, et al.

Malays J Pathol, 2003 Dec;25(2):83-105.

PMID: 16196365

Tumour markers are substances related to the presence or progress of a tumour. An ideal tumour marker is (1) detectable only when malignancy is present, (2) specific for the type and site of malignancy, (3) correlates with the amount of malignant tissue present and (4) responds rapidly to a change in tumour size. At present, no tumour marker fulfills all of the above criteria. The first part of the review discusses the clinical usefulness of the commonly requested serum tumour markers, namely, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), CA 19-9, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA 125, CA 15-3, human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) and alpha-foetoprotein (AFP). It is hoped that this review article will decrease the abuse and misuse of these commonly requested serum tumour markers. The second part of the review discusses the clinical usefulness of catecholamines and their metabolites, calcitonin, thyroglobulin, parathyroid hormone, prolactin, adrenocorticotrophic hormone, oestrogen and progesterone receptors, p53, HER-2/c-erbB2, BRCA1 and BRCA2.

Demographic and clinical characteristics of chronic prostatitis: prospective comparison of the University of Sciences Malaysia Cohort with the United States National Institutes of Health Cohort

Lee SW, Cheah PY, Liong ML, Yuen KH, Schaeffer AJ, Propert K, et al.

J Urol, 2007 Jan;177(1):153-7; discussion 158.

PMID: 17162027

PURPOSE: We compared demographic and clinical characteristics of the University of Sciences Malaysia Chronic Prostatitis Cohort to the United States National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Cohort.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants met the same definition of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Each participant had extensive demographic, medical history, previous treatment, clinical and laboratory evaluations.
RESULTS: The University of Sciences Malaysia and National Institutes of Health cohorts proved similar in most respects. National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index total scores, pain and urinary subscores were similar for the 332 University of Sciences Malaysia Chronic Prostatitis Cohort and 488 National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Cohort participants. Differences included worse quality of life subscore for the University of Sciences Malaysia Chronic Prostatitis Cohort, differences in the location, number of sites, and types of pain/discomfort between the 2 populations, and that the University of Sciences Malaysia participants had received less previous treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: The demographic characteristics and clinical presentation of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome proved remarkably similar in these diverse populations. Both cohorts experienced major reduction in their quality of life from chronic pelvic pain and urinary symptoms. Comparison of diverse populations using standard clinical, laboratory and assessment instruments is feasible, and may provide important insights into chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome and the factors that determine clinical outcome.

Matched MeSH terms: Malaysia

Eating Habits of Malaysian Children: Findings of the South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS)

Chong KH, Wu SK, Noor Hafizah Y, Bragt MC, Poh BK, SEANUTS Malaysia Study Group

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2016 07;28(5 Suppl):59S-73S.

PMID: 27307424 DOI: 10.1177/1010539516654260

This article aims to describe the eating habits of Malaysian children using a nationally representative data set from the South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS) in Malaysia. A total of 2797 children aged 2 to 12 years were included in this analysis. Eating habits and dietary intakes of children were assessed using questionnaires. Overall, 56.1% of children consumed 3 main meals every day. Approximately 20% of children snacked 3 times per day, whereas 9.7% ate fast food on a weekly basis. Irregular meal patterns were significantly associated with lower micronutrient intakes, and the groups with higher odds for this pattern were older children, Malays, and those living in rural areas. Considering the relatively high rate of irregular meal consumption and its potential influence on dietary nutrient intake, persistent efforts must be continued to promote and inculcate healthy eating habits among children from an early age.

Matched MeSH terms: Malaysia

Eeswari Visuvalingam v. Government of Malaysia [7 November 1989]

Malaysia. Supreme Court

Annu Rev Popul Law, 1989;16:66.

PMID: 12344497

Matched MeSH terms: Malaysia

Factors associated with outcomes of severe acute necrotizing encephalopathy: A multicentre experience in Malaysia

Lee VWM, Khoo TB, Teh CM, Heng HS, Li L, Yusof YLM, et al.

Dev Med Child Neurol, 2023 Sep;65(9):1256-1263.

PMID: 36748407 DOI: 10.1111/dmcn.15536

This case series compared clinical variables and various combinations of immunotherapy received with outcomes of patients with severe acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE). We performed a retrospective review of clinical variables, immunotherapy received, and outcomes (based on the modified Rankin Scale) in Malaysia between February 2019 and January 2020. Twenty-seven children (12 male), aged 7 months to 14 years (mean 4 years) at diagnosis were included. Of these, 23 had an ANE severity score of 5 to 9 out of 9 (high risk). Eleven patients received tocilizumab (four in combination with methylprednisolone [MTP], seven with MTP + intravenous immunoglobulin [IVIG]) and 16 did not (two received MTP alone, 14 received MTP + IVIG). Nine died. Among the survivors, six had good outcomes (modified Rankin Score 0-2) at 6 months follow-up. All patients who received tocilizumab in combination with MTP + IVIG survived. Twenty children received first immunotherapy within 48 hours of admission. No significant association was found between the timing of first immunotherapy with outcomes. Those with brainstem dysfunction (p = 0.016) were observed to have poorer outcomes. This study showed a trend towards better survival when those with severe ANE were treated with tocilizumab in combination with MTP + IVIG. However, larger studies will be needed to determine the effect of this regime on the long-term outcomes.

Matched MeSH terms: Malaysia

Faridah bt. Dato Talib v. Mohd. Habibullah bin Mahmood [14 October 1989]

Malaysia. High Court

Annu Rev Popul Law, 1989;16:73.

PMID: 12344524

Matched MeSH terms: Malaysia

Fulltext Guidelines for nucleic acid detection and analysis in hematological disorders

Hassan R, Husin A, Sulong S, Yusoff S, Johan MF, Yahaya BH, et al.

Malays J Pathol, 2015 Aug;37(2):165-73.

PMID: 26277676 MyJurnal

Fulltext Guidelines for the management of childhood asthma--a consensus statement

Academy of Medicine of Malaysia