METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 214 respondents in northeastern Malaysia using a multi-stage stratified random sampling method. The study population was divided into two groups based on geographical locations: urban and rural. All data were entered and analyzed using the IBM Statistics for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 software for Windows (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). The continuous variables were presented using mean and standard deviation (SD), whereas the categorical variables were described using frequency and percentage. Multiple logistic regression was performed to determine the associated factors for good KABP toward leptospirosis among the respondents.
RESULTS: It was found that 52.8% of respondents had good knowledge, 84.6% had positive attitudes, 59.8% had positive beliefs, and 53.7% had satisfactory practices. There were no significant sociodemographic factors associated with knowledge and practice, except for educational status, which was significant in the attitude and belief domains. Those with higher education exhibited better attitudes (Odds Ratio (OR) 3.329; 95% Coefficient Interval (CI): 1.140, 9.723; p = 0.028) and beliefs (OR 3.748; 95% CI: 1.485, 9.459; p = 0.005). The communities in northeastern Malaysia generally have good knowledge and a high level of positive attitude; however, this attitude cannot be transformed into practice as the number of people with satisfactory practice habits is much lower compared to those with positive attitudes. As for the belief domain, the communities must have positive beliefs to perceive the threat of the disease.
CONCLUSIONS: Our current health program on preventing leptospirosis is good in creating awareness and a positive attitude among the communities, but is not sufficient in promoting satisfactory practice habits. In conclusion, more attention needs to be paid to promoting satisfactory practice habits among the communities, as they already possess good knowledge and positive attitudes and beliefs.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a systematic review of observational studies that investigated environmental risk factors of leptospirosis in urban localities. The search will be performed for any eligible articles from selected electronic databases from 1970 until May 2018. The study will include any studies that investigated risk factors of confirmed leptospirosis cases who acquired the infection in urban locality, particularly exposures from the non-recreational and non-water-related activities. Study selection and reporting will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guideline. All data will be extracted using a standardised data extraction form and quality of the studies will be assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale guideline. Descriptive and meta-analysis will be performed by calculating the standardised median ORs and risk ratios for types of the non-recreational risk factors stratified by social, living conditions and environmental exposures, types of reservoirs and transmissions and types of activities and employments associated with leptospirosis infection in urban locality.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No primary data will be collected thus no formal ethical approval is required. The results will be disseminated though a peer-reviewed publication and conference presentation.
PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018090820.
METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we include 196 homeless people aged above 18 years, Malaysian who were able to communicate with interviewers, and respondents who were not aggressive. These respondents were transits at Pusat Transit Gelandangan Kuala Lumpur and Anjung Singgah Kuala Lumpur and were available during interview sessions. They were selected via simple random sampling and were interviewed via face to face guided interviews using a validated structured questionnaire. Data were analysed descriptively, as well as using bivariate and multivariate analysis to explore the associated factors.
RESULTS: The study showed that 57.7% homeless utilized the health services with only 37.8% assessed government health services. Only 42.5% of the respondents use their own money and 46.9% received aids to finance their health. Major influencing factors that influence homeless people to use their own money for health services were education level, income and disability, with adjusted OR (95% CI) of 3.15 (1.07-9.25), 0.08 (0.029-3.07) and 0.05 (0.003-0.88) while p value was 0.037,
DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis was carried out using the first wave data from MELoR which is a longitudinal study.
SETTING: Urban community dwellers in a middle-income South East Asian country.
PARTICIPANTS: 1565 participants aged ≥55 years were selected by simple random sampling from the electoral rolls of three parliamentary constituencies.
OUTCOME MEASURES: Consenting participants from the MELoR study were asked the question 'Have you fallen down in the past 12 months?' during their computer-assisted home-based interviews. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare the prevalence of falls among various ethnic groups.
RESULTS: The overall estimated prevalence of falls for individuals aged 55 years and over adjusted to the population of Kuala Lumpur was 18.9%. The estimated prevalence of falls for the three ethnic populations of Malays, Chinese and Indian aged 55 years and over was 16.2%, 19.4% and 23.8%, respectively. Following adjustment for ethnic discrepancies in age, gender, marital status and education attainment, the Indian ethnicity remained an independent predictor of falls in our population (relative risk=1.45, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.85).
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of falls in this study is comparable to other previous Asian studies, but appears lower than Western studies. The predisposition of the Indian ethnic group to falls has not been previously reported. Further studies may be needed to elucidate the causes for the ethnic differences in fall prevalence.
METHODS: We used a cross-sectional study with data from the Malaysian TB Information System (TBIS) recorded from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2017. All children aged 0-14 years who were registered in the TBIS with at least one household contact of TB cases were included in the study. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate the adjusted odds ratio (adj. OR) and for adjusting the confounding factors.
RESULTS: A total of 2793 children were included in the study. The prevalence of active TB was 1.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31, 1.77%). Children aged 6 weeks [adj. OR 7.48 (95% CI: 2.88, 19.43), p
METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out among first trimester pregnant women during their first antenatal visit. Samples were taken from different ethnicities in an urban district in Malaysia. A total of 396 respondents (99 % response rate) aged 18-40 years completed self-administered and guided questionnaire (characteristics and risk factors), validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire for vitamin D in Malaysia (FFQ vitamin D/My), anthropometric measures (weight and height), blood test for serum 25(OH)D, skin measurement using Mexameter (MX 18) and Fitzpatrick Skin Type Chart Measurement (FSTCM). Data were analyzed to determine the association between risk factors and hypovitaminosis D.
RESULTS: The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (serum 25(OH)D
METHODS: We undertook analysis on 11,821 subjects from six seroprevalence surveys conducted in Malaysia between 2001 and 2013, which composed of five urban and two rural series.
RESULTS: Prevalence of dengue increased with age in both urban and rural locations in Malaysia, which exceeded 90 % among those aged 70 years or beyond. The age-specific rates of the 5 urban surveys overlapped without clear separation among them, while prevalence was lower in younger subjects in rural series than in urban series, the trend reversed in older subjects. There were no differences in the seroprevalence by gender, ethnicity or region. Poisson regression model confirmed the prevalence have not changed in urban areas since 2001 but in rural areas, there was a significant positive time trend such that by year 2008, rural prevalence was as high as in urban areas.
CONCLUSION: Dengue seroprevalence has stabilized but persisted at a high level in urban areas since 2001, and is fast stabilizing in rural areas at the same high urban levels by 2008. The cumulative seroprevalence of dengue exceeds 90 % by the age of 70 years, which translates into 16.5 million people or 55 % of the total population in Malaysia, being infected by dengue by 2013.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The prevalence of diabetes, defined as self-reported or fasting glycemia ≥7 mmol/L, was documented in 119,666 adults from three high-income (HIC), seven upper-middle-income (UMIC), four lower-middle-income (LMIC), and four low-income (LIC) countries. Relationships between diabetes and its risk factors within these country groupings were assessed using multivariable analyses.
RESULTS: Age- and sex-adjusted diabetes prevalences were highest in the poorer countries and lowest in the wealthiest countries (LIC 12.3%, UMIC 11.1%, LMIC 8.7%, and HIC 6.6%; P < 0.0001). In the overall population, diabetes risk was higher with a 5-year increase in age (odds ratio 1.29 [95% CI 1.28-1.31]), male sex (1.19 [1.13-1.25]), urban residency (1.24 [1.11-1.38]), low versus high education level (1.10 [1.02-1.19]), low versus high physical activity (1.28 [1.20-1.38]), family history of diabetes (3.15 [3.00-3.31]), higher waist-to-hip ratio (highest vs. lowest quartile; 3.63 [3.33-3.96]), and BMI (≥35 vs. <25 kg/m(2); 2.76 [2.52-3.03]). The relationship between diabetes prevalence and both BMI and family history of diabetes differed in higher- versus lower-income country groups (P for interaction < 0.0001). After adjustment for all risk factors and ethnicity, diabetes prevalences continued to show a gradient (LIC 14.0%, LMIC 10.1%, UMIC 10.9%, and HIC 5.6%).
CONCLUSIONS: Conventional risk factors do not fully account for the higher prevalence of diabetes in LIC countries. These findings suggest that other factors are responsible for the higher prevalence of diabetes in LIC countries.
OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to derive dietary patterns empirically and to examine the consistency and generalizability of patterns across sex, ethnicity, and urban status in a working population.
DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study using data from the Clustering of Lifestyle Risk Factors and Understanding its Association with Stress on Health and Well-Being among School Teachers in Malaysia study collected between August 2014 and November 2015. Dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire, and dietary patterns were derived using factor analysis.
PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: Participants were teachers from selected public schools from three states in Peninsular Malaysia (n=4,618).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dietary patterns derived using factor analysis.
STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Separate factor analysis was conducted by sex, ethnicity, and urban status to identify dietary patterns. Eigenvalue >2, scree plot, Velicer's minimum average partial analysis, and Horn's parallel analysis were used to determine the number of factors to retain. The interpretability of each dietary pattern was evaluated. The consistency and generalizability of dietary patterns across subgroups were assessed using the Tucker congruence coefficient.
RESULTS: There was no subgroup-specific dietary pattern found. Thus, dietary patterns were derived using the pooled sample in the final model. Two dietary patterns (Western and Prudent) were derived. The Western dietary pattern explained 15.4% of total variance, characterized by high intakes of refined grains, animal-based foods, added fat, and sugar-sweetened beverages as well as fast food. The Prudent dietary pattern explained 11.1% of total variance and was loaded with pulses, legumes, vegetables, and fruits.
CONCLUSIONS: The derived Western and Prudent dietary patterns were consistent and generalizable across subgroups of sex, ethnicity, and urban status. Further research is needed to explore associations between these dietary patterns and chronic diseases.
SETTING: The study was carried out in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study using a self administered questionnaire including adults above 21 years old as an exit survey was conducted in Kuala Lumpur.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of medications taken in a day by participants, source of medication for the treatment of minor illnesses among participants, common illnesses chosen for self-medication by participants, and the sources of information of participants.
RESULTS: Of 314 participants, 62.7% had taken at least one medication in the past week without prescription and 62.7% believed that over the counter medicines were just as effective as those prescribed by doctors. 69.4% would seek a healthcare professional's advice before purchasing any medication and 86.9% would consult a pharmacist prior to buying medication from the pharmacy. Only 86% checked the expiry dates on medications and 54.5% reported keeping leftover medication.
CONCLUSIONS: Self-medication practice is prevalent in Kuala Lumpur but some practice might be harmful. Education on appropriate use of self-medication need to be emphasized in order to ensure quality use of medicines.