METHODS: Secondary data analysis of adults aged 18 years and over from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019 was conducted in this study. Characteristics of respondents and those who utilised oral healthcare were described using complex sample descriptive statistics. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between the dependent and independent variables. Dependent variable was oral healthcare utilisation in the last 12 months. Independent variables were demographic and socioeconomic factors (predisposing, enabling and need characteristics) based on Andersen's Behavioural Model.
RESULTS: A total of 11,308 respondents, estimated to represent 21.7 million adults aged 18 years and over in Malaysia were included in the analysis. Prevalence of oral healthcare utilisation in the last 12 months was 13.2%. Demographic factors of sex, age, marital status, and socioeconomic factors of education level and occupation as well as health belief such as medical check-up were significantly related to oral healthcare utilisation. Enabling factor of household income quintile had significant association with oral healthcare utilisation. Inequalities were observed; females (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.25, 1.96), younger adults (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.15, 2.33), those who were married (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.23, 2.22), those with higher education (OR = 2.21, 95% CI = 1.23, 3.99), those who had medical check-up in the last 12 months (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.53, 2.25) and those with higher income (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.96) were more likely to utilise oral healthcare.
CONCLUSION: Understanding factors associated with utilisation of oral healthcare could help in formulating effective interventions to improve oral healthcare utilisation. Demographic and socioeconomic factors are strong determinants of oral healthcare utilisation in Malaysia. Appropriate interventions to strengthen the existing programmes aimed to promote regular and timely oral health check-ups are needed to improve oral healthcare utilisation.
DESIGN: A single-center retrospective cross-sectional study.
SETTING: Tertiary referral PICU in Johor, Malaysia.
PATIENTS: All children admitted to the PICU over 8 years were included. Patients readmitted into PICU after the first PICU discharge during the hospitalization period were categorized into "early" (within 48 hr) and "late" (after 48 hr), and factors linked to the readmissions were identified. The mortality rate was determined and compared between no, early, and late readmission.
INTERVENTIONS: None.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: There were 2,834 patients in the study with 70 early and 113 late readmissions. Therefore, the rate of early and late PICU readmission was 2.5% (95% CI, 1.9-3.0%) and 3.9% (95% CI, 3.2-4.7%), respectively. The median length of stay of the second PICU admission for early and late readmissions was 2.7 days (interquartile range, 1.1-7.0 d) and 3.2 days (interquartile range, 1.2-7.5 d), respectively. The majority of early and late readmissions had a similar diagnosis with their first PICU admission. Multivariable multinomial logistic regression revealed a Pediatric Index Mortality 2 score of greater than or equal to 15, chronic cardiovascular condition, and oxygen supplement upon discharge as independent risk factors for early PICU readmission. Meanwhile, an infant of less than 1 year old, having cardiovascular, other congenital and genetic chronic conditions and being discharged between 8 AM and 5 PM was an independent risk factor for late readmission. There was no significant difference in the mortality rate of early (12.9%), late (13.3%), and no readmission (10.7%).
CONCLUSIONS: Despite the lack of resources and expertise in lower- and middle-income countries, the rate and factors for PICU readmission are similar to those in high-income countries. However, PICU readmission has no statistically significant association with mortality.
METHODS: Seven hundred seventy individuals aged 55 years (lower age limit) and above were interviewed as to whether they experienced pruritus during the preceding week and the locations involved if present. The association between generalised pruritus, sleep quality, and major systemic risk factors were explored.
RESULTS: 5.97% of respondents reported generalised pruritus. Generalised pruritus was associated with poorer sleep quality, with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score above 6. Mean haemoglobin level was lower in subjects with generalised pruritus (13.14 g/dL) but there was no significant difference in the frequency of generalised pruritus and severe generalized pruritus between subjects with clinically defined anaemia. Also, there were no significant associations between other major systemic risk factors and generalised pruritus in this population-based study. There was no association between generalised pruritus with depression, anxiety or stress.
CONCLUSION: The negative effect of pruritus on sleep quality suggests a possible deleterious effect of pruritus on health and quality of life. Further prospective research on the longer-term effects of pruritus on health status is now warranted. (222 words).
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study design, and a survey was conducted from May to July 2018 among general public in Kuantan, Pahang state, Malaysia.
RESULTS: A total of 393 respondents recruited. Slightly more than one-fourth of the respondents (26.35%) were aware of HA symptoms like pain and/or discomfort in the jaw, neck, or back, while 71.65% showed awareness only of chest pain or discomfort as symptoms. Only 35.6% reported to call an ambulance if they experience someone suffering from HA symptoms, while 82% recognized ≥1 symptom, and only 11.5% recognized all five HA symptoms. Very few respondents, i.e., 1.3% reported awareness about correct recognition of all five HA symptoms. Respondents who had diabetes and hypercholesteremia were more likely to recognize all five HA symptoms. For those who had excellent awareness of all five HA symptoms, the odds ratio (OR) were significantly higher among single respondents (OR 0.023; 95% CI 0.001-0.594), Malay (OR 0.376; 95% CI 0.193-0.733), and those who received information associated with HA (OR 7.540; 95% CI 2.037-27.914). However, those who were aware that HA requires quick treatment had significantly low odds ratio (OR 0.176; 95% CI 0.044-0.710).
CONCLUSIONS: The awareness of and action towards the signs and symptoms of HA among the public were poor.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at selected government and private universities throughout Malaysia. A total of 1851 students participated in this study. The students were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires, including socio-demographic, academic, and psychosocial characteristics. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire was used to measure the prevalence risk of anxiety among the students. Chi-square analysis was conducted to find the relationship between the variables and anxiety, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictors.
RESULTS: The response rate was 97.90%, where 1821 out of 1860 students participated in the study. The prevalence risk of anxiety in this study was recorded at 29%. The data revealed that academic year, financial support for the study, alcohol consumption, poor sleep quality, body mass index (BMI), having a good friend in the university, having doubt regarding the future, actively involved in the society, and having problems with other students and lecturer(s) were significantly associated with risk of anxiety; with the academic year as the primary predictor.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the current prevalence risk of anxiety among university students in Malaysia. The outcome of this study can serve as the evident baseline data and help with the development of specific interventions in addressing and managing the issue appropriately.
OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed at determining the impact of sociological and environmental factors contributing to dengue cases.
METHODS: The study surveyed 379 respondents with dengue history. The socio-environmental factors were evaluated by chi-square and binary regression.
RESULT: The chi-square results revealed sociological factors associated between family with dengue experience such as older age (p =0.012), fewer than four people in the household (p= 0.008), working people (p= 0.004) and apartment/terrace houses (p=0.023). Similarly, there is a significant association between respondent's dengue history and houses that are shaded with vegetation (p= 0.012) and the present of public playground areas near the residential (p = 0.011).
CONCLUSION: The study identified socio-environmental factors that play an important role in the abundance of Aedes mosquitoes and also for the local dengue control measures.
METHODS: This was an observational cohort on incident end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2008. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Patients contributed person-time from the date of ESKD diagnosis until death, transplant or end of study on December 31, 2014, whichever occurred first. An extended Cox regression model with time-varying exposure to dialysis was used to account for immortal time bias.
RESULTS: Of 3990 incident ESKD patients included, 70.2% patients initiated dialysis; 78.8% with haemodialysis (HD) while the remaining 21.2% with peritoneal dialysis (PD). Dialysis reduced hazard of death in both elderly and non-elderly patients even after controlling for comorbidities (hazard ratio [HR] 0.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.50, 0.68 and HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.69, 0.85, respectively). HD was protective in both the elderly and non-elderly (HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.45, 0.63 and HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.64, 0.80, respectively). PD significantly reduced risk of death compared to no dialysis in the elderly but not in the non-elderly.
CONCLUSION: Dialysis improved survival in all incident ESKD patients. The findings suggested a larger protection offered by HD. Although improvement in survival from initiating dialysis was large, its true benefit should take overall quality of life into account. SUMMARY AT A GLANCE This observational study showed that initiation of dialysis improves the survival of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients of all age groups, but the quality of life is an important aspect that has not been explored.
Methods: The publications from 1998 to 2017 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Microsoft Excel, Thomson Data Analyzer, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace software were used to analyze the publication outcomes, journals, countries/regions, institutions, authors, research areas, and research frontiers.
Results: A total of 788 publications on the relationship between betel quid chewing and OC published until October 25, 2017, were identified. The top 4 related journals were Journal of Oral Pathology Medicine, Oral Oncology, Plos One, and International Journal of Cancer. The top five countries engaged in related research included China, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia. The corresponding disciplines, such as oncology, oral surgery, pathology, environmental and occupational health, and toxicology, were mainly concentrated in three disciplines. The subject terms squamous cell carcinoma, OC, betel quid, expression, oral submucous fibrosis, India, and p53 ranked first among research hotspots. The burst terms squamous cell carcinoma, OC, betel quid, and expression ranked first in research frontiers.
Conclusions: Research in this area emphasized hotspots such as squamous cell carcinoma, OC, oral submucosal fibrosis, betel quid, and tobacco. The annual number of publications steadily decreased from 1998 to 2017, with a lack of a systematic study from interdisciplinary perspectives, inadequate pertinent journals, limited regions with the practice of betel quid chewing, and insufficient participation of researchers, which indicate that as the prevalence of OC increases, particularly in China, research in this area warrants further expansion.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Primary outcomes focus on feasibility measures of recruitment, retention, implementation and acceptability of the intervention. Secondary outcomes will include blood pressure, cognitive function, body composition and physical function (including muscle strength and gait speed). Adherence to the dietary intervention will be assessed through collection of biological samples, 24-hour recall and Food Frequency Questionnaire. A subgroup of participants will also complete postintervention focus groups to further explore the feasibility considerations of executing a larger trial, the ability of these individuals to make dietary changes and the barriers and facilitators associated with implementing these changes.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval has been obtained from Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee and Medical Research and Ethics Committee of Malaysia. Results of the study will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national and international conferences.ISRCTN47562685; Pre-results.