AIMS: to identify the prevalence of adherence to lipidlowering therapy, the factors contributing to non-adherence and knowledge regarding hyperlipidaemia and its' treatment among Malaysian patients with hyperlipidemia.
METHODS: A quantitative study using a cross-sectional survey was carried out in an urban primary care clinic in August 2015. Patients on lipid-lowering therapy for ≥ 1 year aged ≥ 18 years were selected using simple random sampling. consenting patients answered a selfadministered questionnaire (in Malay/English) which included socio-demographic profile, hyperlipidaemia profile, adherence to lipid-lowering therapy (using the Morisky Medication Adherence scale-8; score ≥ 6 taken as adherent), reasons leading to non-adherence, knowledge regarding hyperlipidaemia and its' treatment, and use of non-allopathic medicine.
RESULTS: the response rate was 90.7%. the prevalence of adherence to lipid-lowering therapy was 82.4%. "the most common reasons for non-adherence was being worried about side effect of lipid-lowering agent (71.4%), followed by the need to take too many drugs in a day (61.4%) and negative influences by friends, relative and mass media (60%)". Factors associated with non-adherence include male gender, on longer duration of therapy, less frequency of follow-up, less number of follow-up clinics, taking medication at night/random timing and having lower knowledge scores.
CONCLUSION: Overall the prevalence of adherence was high in patients with hyperlipidaemia. Interventions to boost adherence should target those who were identified as nonadherent.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 150 subjects aged 30 years and above who attended a health screening in a Malaysian tertiary institution. Sociodemographics, clinical characteristics and laboratory parameters (lipids, glucose, and sdLDL) were obtained. Lipoprotein subfraction was analysed using the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis method.
RESULTS: Malays and females made up the majority of subjects and the median age was 37 years. Normolipidaemic Pattern B was significantly higher in women (p=0.008). Significant independent predictors of Pattern B were gender (p=0.02), race (p=0.01), body mass index (BMI) [p=0.02] and lipid status (p=0.01). Triglyceride was the only independent predictor of sdLDL (p=0.001).
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of Pattern B of 33% in this study was comparatively high, of which 6.7% were normolipidaemic. Chinese males with dyslipidaemia and increased BMI independently predicted Pattern B. Differences in triglyceride levels alone among these ethnic groups do not fully explain the differences in the prevalence of Pattern B although it was the only lipid parameter to independently predict sdLDL. Individuals with atherogenic normolipidaemia are at greater risk for a CVD event as they are not included in the protective measures of primary CVD prevention.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 222 STEMI patients admitted to two tertiary hospitals in Malaysia. By determining symptom-to-door time, the study population was categorised into two definitive treatment seeking groups: early (≤ 3 h) and delayed (> 3 h). Data was collected focusing on socio-demographical data, risk factors and comorbidities, clinical presentation, situational factors and action taken by patients.
Results: The mean age of our patients was 58.0 (SD = 11.9) years old, and the population consisted of 186 (83.8%) males and 36 (16.2%) females. Our study found that the median symptom-to-door time was 130.5 (IQR 240) min, with 64% of subjects arriving early and 36% arriving late. Pre-hospital delays were found to be significant among females (adj OR = 2.42; 95% CI: 1.02, 5.76; P = 0.046), patients with recurrence of similar clinical presentations (adj OR = 2.74; 95% CI: 1.37, 5.46; P = 0.004), patients experiencing atypical symptoms (adj OR = 2.64; 95% CI: 1.11, 6.31; P = 0.029) and patients who chose to have their first medical contact (FMC) for their symptoms with a general practitioner (adj OR = 2.80; 95% CI: 1.20, 6.56; P = 0.018). However, patients with hyperlipidaemia (adj OR = 0.46; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.93; P = 0.030), self-perceived cardiac symptoms (adj OR = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.17, 0.73; P = 0.005) and symptoms that began in public places (adj OR = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.69; P = 0.010) tended to seek treatment earlier.
Conclusion: The symptom-to-door time among the Malaysian population is shorter in comparison to other developing countries. Nevertheless, identified, modifiable pre-hospital factors can be addressed to further shorten symptom-to-door time among STEMI patients.