METHODS AND RESULTS: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was performed employing in Scopus, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Embase and Google Scholar, then including relevant articles that addressed the effects of DHEA supplementation on the lipid profile, up to February 2020. Combined findings were generated from 23 eligible articles. Hence, total cholesterol (TC) (weighted mean difference (WMD): -3.5 mg/dl, 95% confidence interval (CI): -8.5 to 1.6)), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (WMD: 0.34 mg/dl, 95% CI: -3 to 3.7) and triglycerides (TG) levels (WMD: -2.85 mg/dl, 95% CI: -9.3 to 3.6) did not alter in DHEA group compared to the control, but HDL-C levels significantly reduced in DHEA group (WMD: -3.1 mg/dl, 95% CI: -4.9 to -1.3). In addition, a significant reduction in HDL-C values was observed in studies comprising women (WMD: -5.1 mg/dl, 95% CI: -7.2 to -3) but not in males (WMD: 0.13 mg/dl, 95% CI: -1.4 to 1.7).
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, supplementation with DHEA did not change circulating values of TC, LDL-C and TG, whereas it may decrease HDL-C levels. Further long-term RCTs are required to investigate the effects of DHEA particularly on major adverse cardiac events.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from May 2017 to October 2017 among parents of fourth form students in three schools in Besut, Terengganu, Malaysia. Parents who are able to read and understand Malay and consented to the study were required to answer a validated questionnaire on their knowledge regarding thalassemia. They were also asked the reason for their acceptance or refusal of the thalassemia screening of their children.
Results: In total, 273 participants took part in the study. The mean thalassemia knowledge score was 11.8 out of a maximum score of 21. Low knowledge scores (adjusted odds ratio [adj OR] 0.87; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79, 0.95; P = 0.002) and female sex (adj OR 2.60; 95% CI: 1.04, 6.53; P = 0.040) had significant associations with parental thalassemia screening refusal. The main reason for screening refusal was that parents perceived that their children were not at risk for the disease since they did not have a family member with thalassemia.
Conclusion: The mean thalassemia knowledge score among parents remains unsatisfactory. A high knowledge score is important since it is associated with parental acceptance of thalassemia screening for their children.
Methods: A multicentre cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 government hospitals accredited for housemanship training within the central zone of Malaysia. The study included a total of 1,074 house officers who had been working for at least 6 months in various housemanship rotations. The Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) was used to examine workplace bullying.
Results: The 6-month prevalence of workplace bullying among study participants was 13%. Work-related bullying such as 'being ordered to do work below your level of competence', person-related bullying such as 'being humiliated or ridiculed in connection with your work', and physically intimidating bullying such as 'being shouted at or being the target of spontaneous anger' were commonly reported by study participants. Medical officers were reported to be the commonest perpetrators of negative actions at the workplace. Study participants who graduated from Eastern European medical schools (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.27; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27, 4.07) and worked in surgical-based rotation (AOR 1.83; 95% CI: 1.13, 2.97) had higher odds of bullying compared to those who graduated from local medical schools and worked in medical-based rotation, whereas study participants with good English proficiency (AOR 0.14; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.94) had lower odds of bullying compared to those with poor English proficiency.
Conclusion: The present study shows that workplace bullying is prevalent among Malaysian junior doctors. Considering the gravity of its consequences, impactful strategies should be developed and implemented promptly in order to tackle this serious occupational hazard.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. 1332 participants aged ≥ 55 years were selected by random sampling from the parliamentary electoral register. Only 1274 participants completed the frailty assessment and 1278 participants completed the contrast sensitivity assessment. Impaired vision was defined as a Snellen visual acuity of worse than 6/12 in the better eye. Poor contrast sensitivity was defined as a score on the Pelli Robson chart of lower than 1.65. Frailty was defined with the Fried's phenotype criteria. Inter-group comparisons were determined with the independent T-test for continuous variables and the Pearson's Chi-squared test for categorical variables. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to evaluate the cross-sectional association between frailty and visual function.
RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 68.8 ± 7.5 years, of which 58.1% (774) were women. Impaired vision and poor contrast sensitivity were present in 187 (14%) and 271 (21.2%) subjects respectively. 73 (5.8%) individuals were classified as frail, 1161 (91.0.%) pre-frail, and 40 (2.8%) non-frail. There was no significant difference in frailty phenotypes between those with good and impaired vision (p = 0.241). Fried's component of handgrip strength, gait speed and exhaustion were significantly better in those with good visual function (p
METHODS: We obtained random urine samples from 9,275 cases of acute first stroke and 9,726 matched controls from 27 countries and estimated the 24-hour sodium and potassium excretion, a surrogate for intake, using the Tanaka formula. Using multivariable conditional logistic regression, we determined the associations of estimated 24-hour urinary sodium and potassium excretion with stroke and its subtypes.
RESULTS: Compared with an estimated urinary sodium excretion of 2.8-3.5 g/day (reference), higher (>4.26 g/day) (odds ratio [OR] 1.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.65-2.00) and lower (<2.8 g/day) sodium excretion (OR 1.39; 95% CI, 1.26-1.53) were significantly associated with increased risk of stroke. The stroke risk associated with the highest quartile of sodium intake (sodium excretion >4.26 g/day) was significantly greater (P < 0.001) for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) (OR 2.38; 95% CI, 1.93-2.92) than for ischemic stroke (OR 1.67; 95% CI, 1.50-1.87). Urinary potassium was inversely and linearly associated with risk of stroke, and stronger for ischemic stroke than ICH (P = 0.026). In an analysis of combined sodium and potassium excretion, the combination of high potassium intake (>1.58 g/day) and moderate sodium intake (2.8-3.5 g/day) was associated with the lowest risk of stroke.
CONCLUSIONS: The association of sodium intake and stroke is J-shaped, with high sodium intake a stronger risk factor for ICH than ischemic stroke. Our data suggest that moderate sodium intake-rather than low sodium intake-combined with high potassium intake may be associated with the lowest risk of stroke and expected to be a more feasible combined dietary target.
METHODS: We derived the data from the TECMA study, which used a cross-sectional study design and multi-stage sampling method to obtain a representative sample of school-going adolescents aged 11-19 years in Malaysia in 2016. Data were collected through a self-administered approach using a pre-validated standard questionnaire. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used to analyze the data, and results are presented as adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI).
RESULTS: SHS exposure for the past seven days was higher outside the home (51.2%; 95% CI: 49.2-53.2) compared to at home (37.8%; 95% CI: 35.8-39.9) while 27.3% (95% CI: 25.1-29.5) of school-going adolescents reported exposure to SHS inside the school in the past one month. In the regression analyses, older adolescents, those of Malay and Bumiputra Sarawak ethnicities, adolescents from rural areas and current smokers had higher likelihood of exposure to SHS at home, outside home and inside the school. Our study also found that adolescents who were current smokers had higher odds of being exposed to SHS at home (AOR=2.87; 95% CI: 2.57-3.21), outside the home (AOR=3.46; 95% CI: 3.05-3.92) and in the school (AOR=2.25; 95% CI: 2.01-2.51).
CONCLUSIONS: Health promotion measures should target parents/guardians and household members to reduce SHS exposure among adolescents. In addition, smoke-free regulation should be fully enforced in school. Furthermore, more public places should be designated non-smoking areas to reduce SHS exposure and denormalize smoking behavior.
METHODS: We conducted a prospective study of consecutive patients with acute stroke who were admitted to 36 participating hospitals in China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. With the use of a simple identical data sheet, we recorded the demographics and cardiovascular risk factors of each patient. Early death was defined as death on discharge from the acute hospital.
RESULTS: We enrolled 2403 patients with ischemic stroke and 783 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. Among patients with ischemic stroke, previous use of antiplatelet drugs (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0. 30 to 0.95) and relatively young age group 56 to 75 years (OR 0.65; 95% CI 0.42 to 1.00) were protective factors; atrial fibrillation (OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.40 to 3.57), ischemic heart disease (OR 2.03; 95% CI 1.37 to 3.05), diabetes (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.04 to 2.22), and ex-smoker status (OR 2.18; 95% CI 1.18 to 4.05) were risk factors for early death. Among patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, hypertension (OR 0.56; 95% CI 0.38 to 0.82) and young age group 56 to 75 years old (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.34 to 0.87) were associated with lower death rate, whereas diabetes (OR 1.74; 95% CI 1.01 to 2.98) was a risk factor for early death.
CONCLUSIONS: In Asian patients with stroke, previous use of antiplatelet drugs nearly halved the risk of early death in patients with ischemic stroke, whereas atrial fibrillation, ischemic heart disease, diabetes, and ex-smoker status were risk factors for early death. Among patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, diabetes was associated with early death, whereas young age group and hypertension were associated with lower death rates, though no clear explanation for the hypertension association could be discerned from the data available.