Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 76 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Hanjeet K, Wan Rozita WM, How TB, Santhana Raj L, Baharudin O
    Trop Biomed, 2007 Dec;24(2):15-21.
    PMID: 18209703 MyJurnal
    The Students' Resilience and Interpersonal Skills Development Education (STRIDE) is a preventive drug education programme. The rational of this programme is that preventive drug education has to begin early in age, before the development of social attitudes and behaviour of students. A pre and a post intervention surveys were performed to evaluate the impact of this programme. Nine schools from three states were identified to participate in the intervention. These schools were selected based on their locations in high-drug-use areas (where the prevalence of drug use exceeds 0.5% of the student population). The new intervention curriculum was put into practice for three months in the nine schools. The overall scores obtained by each respondent to assess their knowledge on drugs and its implications were analysed. The results showed that the programme made a positive impact from the pre to post intervention programme by using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test (p < 0.05). A high percentage of the questions showed significant evidence through the McNemar matched pair Chi-Squared test with Bonferonni correction that there were positive shifts in the answers by comparing the pre and post intervention results (p < 0.05). Recommendations have been discussed with the Ministry of Education to integrate this programme into the national primary school curriculum.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
  2. Adlina S, Suthahar A, Ramli M, Edariah AB, Soe SA, Mohd Ariff F, et al.
    Med J Malaysia, 2007 Aug;62(3):218-22.
    PMID: 18246911 MyJurnal
    A cross sectional descriptive study of 2048 subjects was conducted to determine the prevalence of depression and factors influencing depression among students in secondary school from urban and rural areas in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The children's depression inventory (CDI) developed by Maria Kovacs was used in this study. Students who participated in this study come from two urban schools and three rural schools. It was found that in the yield for scores for five factors were 9.2% have negative mood, 5% have interpersonal problems, 8.3% have ineffectiveness, 9.8% have anhedonia and 10.6% have negative self esteem. Following the interpretive guidelines for the T-scores, it was found that 10.3% of the students were much above average in the depression scale. This study also found that: 1% of students were smoking, 1.6% of students were gum sniffling, 0.9% took drugs, 4.1% took alcohol and 9.9% took things from other people. Females were more depressed than males. The Chinese students were more depressed compared to Indian students. Students whose parents had no formal education or had only primary education were more depressed than students whose parents had secondary, college or university education. Depression increased with increasing number of siblings. Depression contributed to the habit of drug abuse, gum sniffing and stealing but not to smoking and alcohol abuse. Suicidal tendencies were more likely among the depressed students. It is imperative that not only caregivers but also teachers have to be equipped with the knowledge, attitude and skills to assist secondary school children cope with their emotions, handle conflicts and manage stress early so that a more productive society will develop in the future.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
  3. Navaratnam V, Foong K
    Med J Malaysia, 1989 Jun;44(2):92-103.
    PMID: 2626130
    Information from the national drug abuse monitoring system was analysed to determine the trends in extent and pattern of drug dependence in Malaysia over the period 1970 to 1986. The annual incidence and prevalence rates of reported drug dependents increased by many folds when compared to the early seventies. Generally, the profile of drug dependents identified has remained relatively stable throughout the years. A stable pattern of drug abuse was also noted over this period. Factors influencing the trend patterns are discussed, as well as the implications of these findings for policy purposes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*
  4. Low Wah Yun, Yusof K
    Med J Malaysia, 1988 Mar;43(1):34-9.
    PMID: 3244317
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*
  5. Segasothy M
    Med J Malaysia, 1983 Dec;38(4):282-8.
    PMID: 6599983
    A survey was conducted on three different groups of population viz. inpatients in the medical wards of General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, the people of Kampong Pandan and two rubber estates as to their analgesic consuming habits. It is found that 0.5 to 2.0% of the people surveyed had consumed more than 2 kg of analgesics and 4.6 to 9.6% of the people surveyed had consumed more than 250g of analgesics. The commonest analgesic consumed is paracetamol followed by Chap Kaki Tiga and Chap Harimau. The commonest reason for consuming analgesic is headache. The implications of the above findings are discussed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
  6. Fauziah MN, Anita S, Sha'ari BN, Rosli BI
    Med J Malaysia, 2003 Jun;58(2):268-72.
    PMID: 14569748
    A cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and HIV-associated risk behavior was conducted in February 1998 among 6,324 drug users in 26 drug rehabilitation centres in Malaysia. The majority of respondents were males (97.3%) and Malays (77.8%), administered drugs intravenously (64.6%) and of these 65.4% shared needles. About 78.1% had sexual exposure, of which 55.1% had sex with girl friends, 31.3% with prostitutes and 4.6% with male partners. The HIV prevalence rate in the group was 12.1% and significantly high among injecting drug users (IDU); those sharing needles; those who started addiction at a young age (10-15 years); those who had sexual exposures and had sex with prostitutes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*
  7. Deva MP
    Med J Malaysia, 1977 Mar;31(3):183-7.
    PMID: 904509
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*
  8. Tan E
    Med J Malaysia, 1973 Sep;28(1):23-8.
    PMID: 4273778
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*
  9. Parameshvara Deva M
    Med J Malaysia, 1978 Mar;32(3):249-54.
    PMID: 683053
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*
  10. Zabedah MY, Razak M, Zakiah I, Zuraidah AB
    Malays J Pathol, 2001 Dec;23(2):105-9.
    PMID: 12166590
    Solvent abuse is deliberate sniffing of an organic solvent for the intention of altering the physiological state of the individual. It is also commonly known as glue sniffing because glue is the most commonly abused substance. This form of substance abuse is widespread throughout the world and usually popular among secondary school children and young adults because of its easy availability and it is cheaper compared with most drugs of abuse. In Malaysia this problem has been recognized especially among the children in East Malaysia. In this study, 37 children and young adults from or around Kota Kinabalu, Sabah were referred to Bukit Padang Psychiatric Hospital by the Anti-drug Task force for suspected solvent abuse. These children were interviewed using questionaire and examined physically. Blood and urine were analysed for toluene and hippuric acid. 27 of the children, age ranging between 8 and 20 years, willingly admitted to sniffing glue for a period between a few months to 2 years. Most of them were children of Fillipino illegal immigrants in Kota Kinabalu. Biochemical parameters were found to be normal. Two of them were pale with low hemoglobin and 7 had eosinophilia. Haematuria and proteinuria were found in 21 children (78%). 16 blood samples with toluene levels ranging from 0.3 to 41 microg/ml and 10 urine samples have elevated urinary hippuric acid levels ranging from 1.2 to 7.4 mg/ml. Strong positive correlation was noted between mean blood toluene levels and duration of abuse.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
  11. Lee CH, Ko AM, Yen CF, Chu KS, Gao YJ, Warnakulasuriya S, et al.
    Br J Psychiatry, 2012 Nov;201(5):383-91.
    PMID: 22995631 DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.111.107961
    Despite gradual understanding of the multidimensional health consequences of betel-quid chewing, information on the effects of dependent use is scant.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*
  12. Park SC, Lee MS, Shinfuku N, Sartorius N, Park YC
    Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 2015 Sep;49(9):833-41.
    PMID: 25829482 DOI: 10.1177/0004867415579464
    The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were gender-specific depressive symptom profiles or gender-specific patterns of psychotropic agent usage in Asian patients with depression.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
  13. Teoh JI
    Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 1974 Jun;8(2):109-20.
    PMID: 4528692 DOI: 10.3109/00048677409159785
    A twelve-month study of all university students with psychological problems and symptoms, referred by the Student Health Physicians of the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur was conducted. A total of 308 students were seen and treated. The following results were elicited:
    1) The proportion of student breakdown among the different ethnic groups was in proportion with the total student population.
    2) There was no significant difference in diagnosis among students of urban-rural origins or from the different faculties.
    3) The majority of students were seen during the first term from the first and second year courses.
    4) Fifty-six percent of students suffered from symptoms prior to their admission to the university.
    5 ) Differences in language stream, especially from the Malay-medium schools, did not increase the rates of breakdown because of attenuating factors to reduce the stress among Malay students.
    6) Chinese students had significantly more severe acculturation gap differences from their parents than Malay students. They also significantly came from more well-off homes, of a higher social class and from urban regions as compared to the Malay students.
    7) Fifty-one percent were diagnosed as suffering from a neurosis and 13.3% from a schizophrenic psychosis. The neurotics had a much lower failure rate than the schizophrenic students.
    8) Personality and family problems were significantly higher among Chinese than Malay students. On the whole, there were more personality and family problems among urban-based students of both ethnic groups.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
  14. Zahari MM, Hwan Bae W, Zainal NZ, Habil H, Kamarulzaman A, Altice FL
    Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse, 2010 Jan;36(1):31-8.
    PMID: 20141394 DOI: 10.3109/00952990903544828
    To examine the association between HIV infection and psychiatric disorders among prisoners, where mental illness, substance abuse, and HIV are disproportionately represented.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*
  15. Baharom N, Hassan MR, Ali N, Shah SA
    PMID: 22853701 DOI: 10.1186/1747-597X-7-32
    BACKGROUND: Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) is one of the popular choices for drug substitution therapy and is fairly new in Malaysia. Aside from its role in harm reduction against HIV infection, MMT programme may potentially enhances clients' quality of life. This study aims to identify the impact of MMT programme on clients' quality of life after 6 months in treatment and to explore factors that may be associated with changes in their quality of life.
    METHODS: In this retrospective report review, 122 subjects from 2 government MMT clinics were selected from the district of Tampin, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. The raw score from the WHO Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF), at baseline and 6 months after therapy were collected and converted to 0-100 scale form to give quality of life scores for four domains; physical, psychological, social relationships and environment. Other variables of interest were socio-demography, age when joining MMT programme, age and duration of illicit drug use, HIV and Hepatitis C status, and the Opiate Treatment Index (OTI) score on drug use, sexual and social aspect at the baseline. Statistical analysis used the SPSS version 16.
    RESULTS: There was significant improvement in all four domains of quality of life, after 6 months of MMT. The largest improvement was for psychological domain (mean score difference 15.54 ± 20.81). Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that, for the physical domain, there was no significant predictor. For both the psychological and social domains, having tertiary education is a significant predictor for improvement in both aspects of quality of life. Negative HIV status is associated with improvement for the environment domain.
    CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant short term improvement in the quality of life of MMT clients who stayed in the programme for at least 6 months in the district of Tampin, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
    Study site: MMT clinic, Tampin, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
  16. Yi S, Peltzer K, Pengpid S, Susilowati IH
    Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy, 2017 04 06;12(1):9.
    PMID: 28381234 DOI: 10.1186/s13011-017-0096-3
    BACKGROUND: Illicit drug use among university students has been recognized as a global public health issue in recent years. It may lead to poor academic performance that in turn leads to poor productivity in their later life. This study explores prevalence of and factors associated with illicit drug use among university students in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

    METHODS: This multi-country cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. A multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select undergraduate students from one or two universities in each country for self-administered questionnaire survey. Multivariate logistic regression analyses was performed to explore risk factors related to illicit drug use.

    RESULTS: Participants included 7,923 students with a mean age of 20.6 years (SD = 2.8), ranging from 18-30 years. The overall prevalence of frequent (≥10 times), infrequent (1-9 times) and ever (at least once) illicit drug use in the past 12 months was 2.2, 14.7, and 16.9%, respectively. After adjustment, male students were significantly less likely to be infrequent (1-9 times vs. never), but significantly more likely to be ever users compared to females. Compared to those living with parents/guardians, students living away from parents/guardians were significantly less likely to be frequent (≥10 times vs. never) and infrequent users. Students from lower-middle-income countries were significantly more likely to be frequent and infrequent users, but significantly less likely to be ever users compared to those from upper-middle or high-income countries. Students with poor subjective health status were significantly more likely to be frequent users compared to those who reported good subjective health status. Students who reported binge drinking in the past month were significantly more likely to be infrequent users, but significantly less likely to be ever users.

    CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that prevalence of illicit drug use among university students in the ASEAN region varied by country. Concerted social intervention programs should be designed to address related health and behavioral problems such as illicit drug use and alcohol drinking with particular emphasis on at-risk subgroups of this young population.

    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*
  17. Krishnan A, Brown SE, Ghani MA, Khan F, Kamarulzaman A, Altice FL
    Subst Abus, 2016 Oct-Dec;37(4):542-549.
    PMID: 26914230
    BACKGROUND: Drug use in Malaysia remains a significant public health and social problem despite implementation of harsh punitive drug policies such as forcibly placing suspected drug users into compulsory drug detention centers (CDDCs). Following criticism over human right violations in CDDCs, Malaysia has begun to transition towards voluntary drug treatment centers known as Cure & Care (C&C) centers. To best serve the needs of regional C&C centers, data on drug use are essential among patients accessing treatment. Using a mixed-methods approach, the authors examined pretreatment drug use characteristics and experiences with addiction treatment among C&C patients in Kelantan-a religiously conservative state in northeast Malaysia with high prevalence of drug use but where limited data are available on drug use patterns.
    METHODS: A mixed-methods study utilizing surveys (n = 96) and semistructured interviews (n = 20) was conducted among a convenience sample of inpatients and outpatients at the Pengkalan Chepa C&C Center in Kelantan.
    RESULTS: Survey results showed that 89.6% of participants met screening criteria for moderate to severe addiction severity. Nearly 90% reported lifetime illicit amphetamine (syabu, meth, ice, and pil kuda) use, followed by alcohol (60.4%) and opioids (52.1%). Qualitative results pointed to the powerful influence of peer networks in drug initiation and relapse, and the positive effect of the C&C center on drug rehabilitation.
    CONCLUSIONS: The drug use profile of the Kelantan C&C center enrollees shows extensive pretreatment amphetamine use, polysubstance use, and injection drug use, including high-risk behaviors such as sharing needles, syringes, and containers. Evidence points to the need for integration of social support-oriented practices and behavioral interventions into the rehabilitation of drug users in this region.
    Study site: Pengkalan Chepa C&C Center, Jalan Padang Tembak, Kelantan, Malaysia
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*
  18. Wickersham JA, Gibson BA, Bazazi AR, Pillai V, Pedersen CJ, Meyer JP, et al.
    Sex Transm Dis, 2017 11;44(11):663-670.
    PMID: 28708696 DOI: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000662
    BACKGROUND: Sex workers face a disproportionate burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STI) worldwide. For cisgender women sex workers (CWSW), global HIV prevalence is over 10%, whereas transgender women sex workers (TWSW) face an HIV burden of 19% to 27%.

    METHODS: We used respondent-driven sampling to recruit 492 sex workers, including CWSW (n = 299) and TWSW (n = 193) in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Participants completed an in-depth survey and were screened for HIV, syphilis, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Sample characteristics stratified by gender identity and interview site are presented. Bivariate analyses comparing CWSW and TWSW were conducted using independent samples t tests for continuous variables and χ tests for categorical variables.

    RESULTS: Pooled HIV prevalence was high (11.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 8.8-14.5), and was similar for CWSW (11.1%) and TWSW (12.4%). Rates of syphilis 25.5% (95% CI, 21.6-29.5), C. trachomatis (14.8%; 95% CI, 11.6-18.0) and N. gonorrhoeae (5.8%; 95% CI, 3.7-7.9) were also concerning. Both groups reported lifetime HIV testing (62.4%), but CWSW were less likely to have ever been HIV tested (54.5%) than TWSW (74.6%). Median time since last HIV test was 24 months. Previous screening for STI was low. Inconsistent condom use and drug use during sex work were not uncommon.

    CONCLUSIONS: High HIV and STI prevalence, coupled with infrequent HIV and STI screening, inconsistent condom use, and occupational drug use, underscore the need for expanded HIV and STI prevention, screening, and treatment efforts among CWSW and TWSW in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
  19. McLean D, John S, Barrett R, McGrath J, Loa P, Thara R, et al.
    Psychiatry Res, 2012 Apr 30;196(2-3):194-200.
    PMID: 22401968 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2011.12.027
    We contrasted demographic and clinical characteristics in transethnic schizophrenia populations from Australia (n=821), India (n=520) and Sarawak, Malaysia (n=298) and proposed cultural explanations for identified site differences. From these we aimed to identify candidate variables free from significant cultural confounding that are hence suitable for inclusion in genetic analyses. We observed five phenomena: (1) more individuals were living alone in Australia than India or Sarawak; (2) drug use was lower in India than Australia or Sarawak; (3) duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) was longer in India than Australia or Sarawak; (4) the rate of schizoaffective disorder was lower in India than Australia or Sarawak; and (5) age at psychosis onset (AAO) was older in Sarawak than Australia or India. We suggest that site differences for living arrangements, drug use and DUP are culturally confounded. The schizoaffective site difference likely results from measurement bias. The AAO site difference, however, has no obvious cultural or measurement bias explanation. Therefore, this may be an ideal candidate for use in genetic studies, given that genetic variants affecting AAO have already been proposed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
  20. Kabir MA, Goh KL, Kamal SM, Khan MM
    PLoS One, 2013;8(7):e68728.
    PMID: 23935885 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068728
    Tobacco smoking (TS) and illicit drug use (IDU) are of public health concerns especially in developing countries, including Bangladesh. This paper aims to (i) identify the determinants of TS and IDU, and (ii) examine the association of TS with IDU among young slum dwellers in Bangladesh.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links