Objective: Despite the availability of modern anti-emetics, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) symptoms remain distressing to a high number of cancer patients. This study intended to (1) describe the incidence of CINV and antiemetic usage; (2) assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and correlate its components with Global Health Status; (3) evaluate HRQoL status in relation to CINV among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in two government hospitals located in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia (Terengganu, Kelantan). The Morrow Assessment of Nausea and Emesis Follow-up (MANE-FU) and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) were administered. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were employed (SPSS 16). Results: Respondents included 41 female patients (age = 49 ± 9.6 years; Malay = 92.7%; no family history of breast cancer = 68.3% and on moderately emetogenic chemotherapy = 97.6%). Majority of patients experienced nausea during or after chemotherapy (90.2%) and rated it as ‘severe’. Most patients had taken anti-emetic
(87.8%) and considered it ‘somewhat useful’. The median score for Global Health Status was 50 (IqR= 16.7). Emotional Functioning, Fatigue and Pain correlated fairly with HRQoL (rs= +0.435; -0.417; -0.387 respectively). Patients with ‘a lot’ and ‘moderate’ nausea displayed significantly more fatigue compared to those with little nausea (p=0.029). Those who experienced vomiting reported worse HRQoL profile compared to those who did not (p=0.011). Conclusion: These findings generally ascertained that CINV remains poorly controlled and significantly interferes with HRQoL, providing rooms for improvements in therapeutic intervention.
A concern in breast cancer involves changes in weight which may adversely affect the prognosis of patients. This
study intended to evaluate weight changed uring chemotherapy and its association with prognostic outcome
measured as event-free survival (EFS)among breast cancer patients. A total of63 women diagnosed with breast cancer
and have been treated by anthracycline-based chemotherapy between 2005 and 2011were included.A weight change
(WC) was calculated based on relative percentage of weight changes from baseline to post-chemotherapy and
categorized into either weight change (WC >5%) or stable (±5% WC).Survival probabilities were estimated using the
Kaplan-Meier (SPSS 20). Upon treatment completion, 42.9% of the women experienced weight changes. A small
weight reduction was observed (61.1 ± 11.6kg to 60.2 ± 11.9kg; -0.8 ± 4.0kg; p=0.106). The median EFS of women who
experienced weight change was shorter (median 61.0 months) compared to those who maintained their weight
(median 89.0 months) (p=0.044). In this study, weight changes during breast cancer chemotherapy were associated
with poorer prognosis in comparison to women who maintained their weight.
Food insecurity is normally associated with lower socioeconomic status and improper feeding practices which may consequently affect growth and development of young children. This study aims to assess household food security status and its association with child feeding practices and children’s weight status among low income mothers in Terengganu. A cross-sectional study using convenience sampling was conducted at four public maternal and child health clinics (MCH) located in Terengganu. A total of 107 of low-income mothers between ages of 18 to 45 years with net household income less than RM 3000 who has at least one child aged two years and above were recruited. The instruments used were Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) and weight-for-age child growth chart for children’ weight status at aged one year. Descriptive statistic and non-parametric tests were employed (SPSS 20). Majority of the households were food secure (85.0%). Yet, it is also important to note that about 15% of the household had experienced some degree of food insecurity. There was no significant correlation between household food security and all child feeding practice domains. Most of the mothers had children with normal weight (mean Z-score =-0.72+0.99). There was statistically significant association between household food security status and weight of children at one year of age (p=0.01). In conclusion, majority of the households experienced food secure. Household food security were associated with children’s weight status at early age but not correlated with parent’s child feeding practice.
Introduction: Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) is becoming increasingly popular among cancer patients worldwide. While health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in relation to cancer outcomes has attracted global attention, there are few studies on CHM use and HRQoL among cancer patients in Malaysia. This study attempted to determine the association between use of CHM, including the types, reasons, and beliefs, and HRQoL among Malaysian cancer patients.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 cancer patients (60 male and 60 female) recruited from government oncology clinics in Johor state. A purposive non-probability sampling was applied to recruit respondents.
Results: Use of CHM was reported by about half of the patients (49.2%). Common types of CHM used included Chinese herbal extracts (27.5%), Sabah snake grass (12.2%), and ginger (11.5%). The median score for overall belief in CHM significantly differed between
CHM users (71.7%) and non-users (65.0%) (p<0.001). The HRQoL was generally reported as ‘good’ with high scores for overall functioning scales and low scores for symptom scales. However, no significant difference in HRQoL between CHM users and non-users was noted. ‘Social Functioning’ scores between both groups showed a significant difference (p < 0.001) with respect to sex, with females scoring higher than males. No significant association was noted between CHM use and socio-demographic characteristics except for sex.
Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of self-prescription of CHM among the cancer patients studied. Nonetheless use of CHM did not show any significant difference in terms of quality of life among CHM users.
Study site: Oncology clinics, Hospital Sultan Ismail (Johor Bahru) and Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail (Batu Pahat), Johor, Malaysia
Introduction: In Malaysia, private office workers tend to be more physically inactive due to work burden. This study aimed to determine physical activity level, motivation factors and barrier towards physical activity among private office workers. Methods: A cross sectional study using convenience sampling was conducted at nine private com- panies in Selangor involving 106 office workers aged 21 to 55 years old. Self-administered questionnaires includ- ing Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS) and Physical Activity Barrier (PAB) were administered. Results: Over half of the respondents (58.5%) were having low physical activity level. The main motivation factors include physical condition, psychological condition and mastery. Meanwhile, tired after work, laziness, lack of discipline, family commitment and adverse weather were the main perceived barriers. A weak positive correlation was found between total motivation score and total physical activity (r=0.296; p=0.002). In contrast, there was a weak negative correlation between barriers and total physical activity (r=-0.237; p=0.015). Conclusion: The current physical activity level, its main motivation factors and barriers among private office workers were identified, providing an opportunity to create effective setting-based health promotion and intervention. It is also recommended that policy suggestions are made to influence and prepare essential partners (e.g. companies and employees) to promote ways of incorporating physical activity into one’s daily routine.