Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 85 in total

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  1. Zahir Izuan A, Shamsul Azhar S, Tan MKS, Syed-Sharizman SAR
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2018 Dec;38:35-41.
    PMID: 30408711 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2018.10.018
    BACKGROUND: Mental health problems are affecting more children and adolescents worldwide. Individual, family and school factors are often linked with mental health problems among adolescents.

    AIM: To determine the neighbourhood factors influencing the prevalence of abnormal mental health status among adolescents in an urban population.

    METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescents aged 13, 14 and 16 years old from thirteen secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur using validated questionnaires. A total of 567 adolescents participated in this study.

    RESULTS: The prevalence of abnormal mental health status in this study was 4.4%. In multivariable analysis, female (OR = 1.79, 95%CI: 1.11-2.89), having divorced parents (OR = 3.53, 95%CI: 1.96-6.36), high educational stress (OR = 8.18, 95%CI: 4.25-15.75), medium educational stress (OR = 2.99, 95%CI: 1.53-5.83), whose house has been broken in before (OR = 2.02, 95%CI: 1.11-3.68) and living in a neighbourhood with low socioeconomic status (OR = 2.09, 95%CI: 1.23-3.56) were more likely to have abnormal mental health status.

    CONCLUSIONS: Neighbourhood factors were found to be significant in determining adolescents' mental health status. The findings emphasize the importance of those in the public health sector to highlight these significant neighbourhood factors to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. Swift action needs to be taken by the Ministry to provide solutions related to the neighbourhood factors and this can contribute to improvement in the adolescents' mental health.

  2. Yusoff MS, Yaacob MJ, Naing NN, Esa AR
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2013 Feb;6(1):60-5.
    PMID: 23380320 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2012.09.001
    This study evaluated the convergent, discriminant, construct, concurrent and discriminative validity of the Medical Student Wellbeing Index (MSWBI) as well as to evaluate its internal consistency and optimal cut-off total scores to detect at least moderate levels of general psychological distress, stress, anxiety and depression symptoms. A cross sectional study was done on 171 medical students. The MSWBI and DASS-21 were administered and returned immediately upon completion. Confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, ROC analysis and Pearson correlation test were applied to assess psychometric properties of the MSWBI. A total of 168 (98.2%) medical students responded. The goodness of fit indices showed the MSWBI had a good construct (χ(2)=6.14, p=0.803, RMSEA<0.001, RMR=0.004, GFI=0.99, AGFI=0.97, CFI=1.00, IFI=1.02, TLI=1.04). The Cronbach's alpha value was 0.69 indicating an acceptable level of internal consistency. Pearson correlation coefficients and ROC analysis suggested each MSWBI's item showed adequate convergent and discriminant validity. Its optimal cut-off scores to detect at least moderate levels of general psychological distress, stress, anxiety, and depression were 1.5, 2.5, 1.5 and 2.5 respectively with sensitivity and specificity ranged from 62 to 80% and the areas under ROC curve ranged from 0.71 to 0.83. This study showed that the MSWBI had good level of psychometric properties. The MSWBI score more than 2 can be considered as having significant psychological distress. The MSWBI is a valid and reliable screening instrument to assess psychological distress of medical students.
  3. Yusoff MS, Abdul Rahim AF, Baba AA, Ismail SB, Mat Pa MN, Esa AR
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2013 Apr;6(2):128-33.
    PMID: 23466109 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2012.09.012
    Many studies have reported that the prevalence of psychological distress among medical students during medical training was high. However, there are very few studies exploring on the psychological health of prospective medical students. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors for stress, anxiety and depression symptoms among the prospective medical students. A cross-sectional study was done on two cohorts of applicants to a public medical school. A total of 839 applicants were invited to participate in the study. The 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale was administered to the applicants after they completed interviews. A total of 743 (92.2%) applicants took part in the study. The prevalence of moderate to extremely severe level of stress, anxiety and depression were 3.6%, 54.5% and 1.9%, respectively. Stress was significantly associated with extra-curricular activity (p<0.001) and race (p<0.001). Anxiety was associated with extra-curricular activity (p<0.001), race (p<0.001), mother education level (p=0.002) and CGPA group (p=0.034). Depression was associated with academic performance in class (p<0.001) and race (p=0.004). Prevalence of stress and depression among entering medical students was low; however prevalence of anxiety was high which could be due to worry about the interviews to enter medical course. The associated factors of psychological distress among prospective medical students were related to academic, non-academic, parent education and cultural backgrounds.
  4. Yong HW, Zubaidah J, Saidi M, Zailina H
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2012 Mar;5(1):38-42.
    PMID: 26878945 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2011.12.007
    Distress thermometer (DT) is a single-item measure generated to assess the psychological distress among cancer patients. The aim of this study was to validate the translated DT as a tool to determine the psychological distress level and assess the factors associated with distress among the working breast cancer survivors and also to compare with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).
  5. Woodberry KA
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2015 Dec;18:97-8.
    PMID: 26498721 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2015.09.005
    A recent article in this journal (Razali et al., 2015) reports the results of a 2-stage study screening for psychosis risk in Malaysia. The researchers incorporated both selective and indicated prevention strategies and included self-report items probing non-specific "early" experiences as well as attenuated psychotic symptoms associated with the prodromal phase of schizophrenia. Given that increased stigma and reduced services may reduce help-seeking in many Asian countries, population screening may be more important to early detection of individuals at risk for psychosis. In fact, the availability of large population centers and greater trust of providers may make Asian research centers uniquely suited for conducting badly needed research on screening strategies and the role of cultural factors in the emergence of psychosis.
  6. Wong CH, Sultan Shah ZU, Teng CL, Lin TQ, Majeed ZA, Chan CW
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2016 Dec;24:110-117.
    PMID: 27931891 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2016.08.020
    BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders are common mental health disorders with significant impact on the individual as well as burden on the country as a whole.
    METHODS: A systematic review of databases, reference lists, internet sources, and input from content experts revealed 42 studies that documented the prevalence of anxiety symptoms or disorders. 12 of these studies specifically evaluated anxiety disorders.
    RESULTS: 4 studies looked at the prevalence of anxiety disorders in the general population, whilst the remainder focused on selected population groups: university students (4 studies); substance abuse (3 studies); and victims of abuse (1 study). Studies in the general population showed that the prevalence of generalised anxiety disorder was 0.4-5.6%, mixed anxiety and depression were 3-5%, panic without agoraphobia 0.4%, phobia unspecified 0.5-%, and anxiety not-otherwise-specified 0.3-6.5%. We found significant variability in anxiety disorders in the studies in selected population groups. The variability could also have been affected by methodological factors within each study.
    CONCLUSION: This study provides a broad overview of the prevalence of anxiety disorders in Malaysia. More research is required to develop diagnostic instruments that are validated for local use and comparable with international standards. Reliable prevalence estimates are lacking within certain groups, e.g. those in rural, indigenous, migrant population groups and those exposed to natural disasters.
  7. Wan Salwina WI, Baharudin A, Nik Ruzyanei NJ, Midin M, Rahman FN
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2013 Dec;6(6):483-7.
    PMID: 24309858 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2013.05.001
    Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a clinical diagnosis relying on persistence of symptoms across different settings. Information are gathered from different informants including adolescents, parents and teachers. In this cross-sectional study involving 410 twelve-year old adolescents, 37 teachers and 367 parents from seven schools in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, reliability of ADHD symptoms among the various informants were reported. ADHD symptoms (i.e. predominantly hyperactive, predominantly inattentive and combined symptoms) were assessed by adolescents, teachers and parents, using Conners-Wells' Adolescent Self-report Scale (CASS), Conner's Teachers Rating Scale (CTRS) and Conner's Parents Rating Scale (CPRS) respectively. For predominantly hyperactive symptoms, there were statistically significant, weak positive correlations between parents and teachers reporting (r=0.241, p<0.01). Statistically significant, weak positive correlations were found between adolescents and parents for predominantly inattentive symptoms (r=0.283, p<0.01). Correlations between adolescents and parents reporting were statistically significant but weak (r=0.294, p<0.01). Weak correlations exist between the different informants reporting ADHD symptoms among Malaysian adolescents. While multiple informant ratings are required to facilitate the diagnosis of ADHD, effort should be taken to minimize the disagreement in reporting and better utilize the information.
  8. Vasantha Kumar P, Subramaniam P, Che Din N
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2021 Jun;60:102646.
    PMID: 33873045 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102646
    BACKGROUND: The effects of aging and its associated cognitive decline is particularly acute in Asia given the exponential growth of older adults as a proportion of the population as a whole. Many structured cognitive interventions have been proposed to prevent the cognitive decline typically seen in older age, but their utility as a viable means of achieving these goals is questionable.

    OBJECTIVES: To summarize and synthesize evidence on the utility and methodological quality of cognitive-based interventions on cognitive performance and associated secondary outcomes among healthy older adults in Asia, as well as novel, culture-specific components of cognitive interventions across the region.

    DATA SOURCES: The PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases were searched through May 2020.

    ELIGIBILITY: Studies including individuals aged 60 years and above, who had no previous history of physical and/or mental illness. Few restrictions placed on intervention design, duration and mode of delivery, provided that participants were randomized to study conditions, and intervention included components addressing at least one cognitive domain.

    RESULTS: A total of 17 studies from six countries met the eligibility criteria and were included in the final review. Evidence from those studies indicated that cognitive interventions may be most effective when the design and aims were directed towards improvement in specific cognitive domains, but evidence regarding long-term effectiveness in preventing progression to clinical-level cognitive deficits is still unclear. Several studies highlighted culture-specific activities as components of their interventions, though these will need to be further outlined and standardized clearly in future research.

  9. Tan YK, Siau CS, Chan LF, Kõlves K, Zhang J, Ho MC, et al.
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2023 Nov;89:103772.
    PMID: 37748229 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2023.103772
    This cross-sectional study aimed to validate the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5) among Malaysian undergraduates (N = 500; mean age = 21.66 ± 1.57), of which 90.4% had ever experienced a lifetime traumatic event. Cronbach's alpha of .87 (95% CI [.86, .89]) and McDonald's omega of .89 (95% CI [.89, .93]) indicated good reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis based on a six-factor structure showed the best fit. The measurement invariance showed that the six-factor structure was similar across sexes. Therefore, the Malay LEC-5 is a valid and reliable instrument to screen for traumatic events among Malaysian undergraduates.
  10. Somasundaram O
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2013 Dec;6(6):506-9.
    PMID: 24309862 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2013.06.003
    This article deals with the presence of hysterical astasia abasia in the father, and cyclothymic disturbance in the elder brother of the great Chola emperor and builder of the Big Temple at Thanjavur, Raja Raja.
  11. Siraji MA, Jahan N, Borak Z
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2023 Jun;84:103586.
    PMID: 37079986 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2023.103586
    BACKGROUND: Assessing communication skills is necessary to facilitate pro-communication skills development programs. The 23-item Communication Scale (CS) is the most widely used tool for this purpose. Since there is a scarcity of validated tools to assess communication skills among Bangladeshi adolescents, we translated this questionnaire into Bangla and validated it on a Bangladeshi adolescent sample.

    METHODS: We conducted two independent rounds of large-scale surveys that yielded data from 621 Bangladeshi adolescents (AgeMean ± SD = 16.44 ± 1.32), of which 378 were males, and 244 were females. The participants completed the Bangla CS. A subset of the participants (n = 160) also completed the Bangla Beck's Hopelessness Scale (BBHS)-a measure of hopelessness.

    RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis on the first-round data (n = 340) discarded six items and retained 17 items and revealed a unidimensional factor structure. Confirmatory Factor Analysis on the second-round data (n = 281) supported the unidimensional structure (CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93). Measurement invariance analysis indicated that the unidimensional structure was robust across gender (143 males vs 139 females). The scale exhibited a negative correlation with BBHS revealing the scale's concurrent validity (r = - 0.16, p  0.70) across a sizable range of communication skills continuum (θ = - 5.3 to 2.3) and had excellent marginal reliability (0.80). All items had adequate discriminating power (0.90 ± 0.20).

    CONCLUSION: The psychometric analysis of the 17-item Bangla-CS indicated that the scale is reliable and valid. We recommend that researchers and mental health practitioners utilize this scale to evaluate communication skills among Bangladeshi adolescents.

  12. Shu L, Sulaiman AH, Huang YS, Fones Soon Leng C, Crutel VS, Kim YS
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2014 Apr;8:26-32.
    PMID: 24655622 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2013.09.009
    OBJECTIVE: This randomized, double-blind study evaluates the efficacy and tolerability of agomelatine, using fluoxetine as an active comparator, in Asian patients suffering from moderate to severe major depressive disorder (MDD).
    METHOD: Patients were randomly assigned to receive either agomelatine (25-50mg/day, n=314) or fluoxetine (20-40mg/day, n=314) during an 8-week treatment period. The main outcome measure was the change in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 17 items (HAM-D17) scores. Secondary efficacy criteria included scores on Clinical Global Impression Severity of illness (CGI-S) and Improvement of illness (CGI-I), patient sleeping improvement using the self-rating Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire (LSEQ) and anxiety using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) scores. Tolerability and safety evaluations were based on emergent adverse events.
    RESULTS: Agomelatine and fluoxetine exert a comparable antidepressant efficacy in the Asian population. Mean changes over 8 weeks were clinically relevant and similar in both groups (-14.8±7.3 and -15.0±8.1 on HAM-D17 scale in agomelatine and fluoxetine groups, respectively). The between-group difference reached statistical significance on non-inferiority test (p=0.015). Clinically relevant decreases in CGI-S and CGI-I scores were observed over the treatment period in both groups. The two treatments were equally effective on the symptoms of both anxiety and sleep. The good tolerability profile and safety of both doses of agomelatine was confirmed in the Asian population.
    CONCLUSIONS: Agomelatine and fluoxetine are equally effective in the treatment of MDD-associated symptoms in Asian depressed patients.
    KEYWORDS: Agomelatine; Antidepressant; Asian population; Fluoxetine
    Study site in Malaysia: Psychiatric clinic, University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  13. Shaoli SS, Islam S, Haque S, Islam A
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2019 Aug;44:143-149.
    PMID: 31376798 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2019.07.044
    BACKGROUND: The Preschool version of the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ-18) is a popular instrument to assess children's ability to master the environment through action or activity to explore, influence, or control the physical atmosphere. Although this instrument was originally developed in English, it has now been translated and validated in five other languages: Hungarian, Turkish, Chinese, Spanish, and Persian. As we notice a growing interest in research on the mastery motivation among Bangladeshi preschoolers, we have taken this effort to translate and validate the DMQ-18 and explore the factor structure of the Bangla version of this questionnaire.

    METHOD: After translating all 39 items of the questionnaire into Bangla, it was administered on 206 children, aged 3 to 6 years, recruited randomly from ten preschools in Dhaka. The schools were selected randomly from the official list of preschools prepared by the Dhaka City Corporation. Class teachers of the respective children completed the questionnaire with the assistant of research assistants.

    RESULTS: The Bangla version of the questionnaire retained all 39 items, with seven factors as they were in the English version. The Bangla version shows sufficient reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.87; test-retest reliability = 0.89 for whole questionnaire and .79-.89 for sub-scales; inter-rater reliability = 0.88 for whole questionnaire and .79-.88 for sub-scales), and validity (correlated positively with the English version; r = 0.85).

    CONCLUSION: Due to its robust psychometric properties, the Bangla DMQ-18 is suggested to be used for Bangladeshi preschool children to assess their mastery motivation.

  14. Shamsuddin K, Fadzil F, Ismail WS, Shah SA, Omar K, Muhammad NA, et al.
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2013 Aug;6(4):318-23.
    PMID: 23810140 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2013.01.014
    University students face not only challenges related with independent living, but also academic challenges. This predisposes them to depression, anxiety and stress, which are fairly common.
  15. Shahar S, Hassan J, Sundar VV, Kong AY, Ping Chin S, Ahmad SA, et al.
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2011 Sep;4(3):188-95.
    PMID: 23051116 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2011.06.001
    Depression and insomnia are common psychiatric disorders among elderly people and reported to be related to several social and health factors. However, their occurrences in relation to food intake have rarely been investigated. Therefore, this study was to identify determinants of depression and insomnia, with emphasised on food intake among 71 elderly people residing in a government funded institution in Malaysia. An interview based questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demography, health and functional status, depression, insomnia and food intake. A total of 71.8% subjects had depression and 53% had insomnia. Subjects who had insomnia [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 19.55, 95% CI=4.04-94.64], needed help/unable to perform >4 items of IADL (AOR=16.65, 95% CI=3.95-70.22), had hypertension (AOR=7.66, 95% CI=1.37-42.76), had >50% wastage of poultry or fish (AOR=3.66, 95% CI=1.06-12.60) and wastage of vegetables (AOR 3.31, 95% CI=1.03-10.60) were more likely to have depression. Subjects who had depression (AOR 19.55, 95% CI=4.04-94.64), needed help/unable to perform >4 items of IADL (AOR 2.97, 95% CI=1.12-7.84), needed help/unable to handle financial matters (AOR 5.01, 95% CI=1.37-18.27) and had >50% wastage of vegetables (AOR 3.91, 95% CI=1.42-10.82) were at a higher risk to develop insomnia. Depression and insomnia affected more than half of the subjects, interrelated, and associated with functional inability, socioeconomic factor and high food wastage of specific foods.
  16. Sekaran VC, Kamath VG, Ashok L, Kamath A, Hegde AP, Devaramane V
    Asian J Psychiatr, 2020 Apr;50:101941.
    PMID: 32070886 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.101941
    INTRODUCTION: Adolescent behavioural problems are a growing public health concern. The authors in this study investigated paternal and maternal reports of parenting attitudes and dimensions as predictors of adolescent behavioural problems in the Indian context.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using stratified sampling at the community level, 640 parents including 419 mothers and 221 fathers participated in the study. Tools included a socio-demographic pro-forma; Parental attitude inventory (PAI) to assess parenting attitudes, Parent Global Report of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) to assess current parenting dimensions, and the parent version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to assess behavioural problems among adolescents. We examined the prevalence and predictors of total difficulties, externalizing and internalizing behavioural problems among adolescents from paternal and maternal reports.

    RESULTS: Paternal and maternal reports of total difficulties (11.3 %, 13.6 %), externalizing (2.3 %, 1.9 %) and internalizing behaviours (8.6 %, 7.4 %) among adolescents are reported. Predictors of abnormal behaviours per paternal reports included lower social class and poor paternal control. Being a male adolescent increased the odds of total difficulties and externalizing problems. Favourable maternal attitude, good maternal warmth and control predicted the reduced likelihood of total difficulties and externalizing behaviours per maternal reports. Paternal control and maternal warmth and control were found to reduce the likelihood of internalizing behaviours among adolescents.

    CONCLUSION: Maternal attitude, paternal control and maternal warmth and control dimensions emerged as significant predictors of total difficulties, externalizing and internalizing behavioural problems among adolescents.

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