METHODS: This was a single-center cross-sectional study. We recruited 159 participants diagnosed with epilepsy on antiseizure medications (ASMs). We included those aged 18 years and above, excluding patients with long-term medical conditions that would affect vitamin D metabolism. Sociodemographic data and details of epilepsy were collated. Venous sampling was performed to analyze the levels of albumin-corrected calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D]. Serum 25(OH)D level is defined as deficient (<20 ng/ml), insufficient (20-29 ng/ml), and sufficient (≥30 ng/ml).
RESULTS: The study reported that 73 (45.9%) participants had vitamin D deficiency, 38 (23.9%) had vitamin D insufficiency, and 48 (30.2%) patients had sufficient vitamin D levels. The predictors identified were PWE aged 18 to 44 years old (p = 0.001), female gender (OR 3.396, p = 0.002), and ethnicity (p
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on third-, fourth- and final-year students of the dental and medical courses of MAHSA University, Malaysia. A total of 557 students participated in the survey. Oral cancer awareness, knowledge about risk factors, signs and symptoms of oral cancer, attitude and practices towards oral cancer were assessed using 43 questions. The questionnaire was pretested, and internal consistency, assessed using Cronbach's alpha, was acceptable (α > 0.7). The data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 21. The chi-square test was used to analyse the difference in oral cancer awareness between medical and dental students.
RESULTS: Among 557 participants, there were 351 (63%) medical students and 206 (37%) dental students. Based on the results obtained, dental students had a higher level of knowledge than medical students regarding oral cancer (P