Displaying publications 21 - 40 of 102 in total

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  1. Gholamzadeh S, Hamid TA, Basri H, Sharif F, Ibrahim R
    Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res, 2014 Sep;19(5):478-84.
    PMID: 25400675
    BACKGROUND: This study aims to explore the relationship between religiosity and psychological well-being of caregivers of stroke survivors in Shiraz, Iran.
    MATERIALS AND METHODS: A purposive sample of 96 family members, which included 34 daughters-in-law and 62 daughters, who were caring for severe impaired stroke survivors were enrolled in the study.
    RESULTS: The results showed a significant correlation between positive religious coping and caregivers' psychological well-being. Positive religious coping accounted for 7.2% of the change in psychological well-being. There was no significant association between demographic factors and caregivers' psychological well-being.
    CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that religious and spiritual belief have a role in caregiver adaptations with the situation. Therefore, in future studies, it is suggested to concentrate on the effects of other characteristics than the demographic variables on psychological well-being.
    KEYWORDS:Aging; caregivers; mental health; religious coping; stroke
  2. Momtaz YA, Haron SA, Ibrahim R, Hamid TA
    Clin Interv Aging, 2014;9:863-70.
    PMID: 24904206 DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S62205
    BACKGROUND: The positive effect of social cohesion on well-being in older adults has been well documented. However, relatively few studies have attempted to understand the mechanisms by which social cohesion influences well-being. The main aim of the current study is to identify social pathways in which social cohesion may contribute to well-being.

    METHODS: The data for this study (taken from 1,880 older adults, aged 60 years and older) were drawn from a national survey conducted during 2008-2009. The survey employed a two-stage stratified sampling process for data collection. Structural equation modeling was used to test mediating and moderating analyses.

    RESULTS: The proposed model documented a good fit to the data (GFI =98; CFI =0.99; RMSEA =0.04). The findings from bootstrap analysis and the Sobel test revealed that the impact of social cohesion on well-being is significantly mediated by social embeddedness (Z=5.62; P<0.001). Finally, the results of a multigroup analysis test showed that social cohesion influences well-being through the social embeddedness mechanism somewhat differently for older men than women.

    CONCLUSION: The findings of this study, in addition to supporting the importance of neighborhood social cohesion for the well-being of older adults, also provide evidence that the impact of social cohesion towards well-being is mediated through the mechanism of social embeddedness.

  3. Kamaludin KM, Muhammad M, Wahat NW, Ibrahim R
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2013;14(8):4795-800.
    PMID: 24083746
    The involvement of non-government organizations (NGOs) and support groups has helped strengthen public health services in addressing cancer care burden. Owing to the contribution of volunteers in cancer care, this article documents a qualitative study that examined challenges in attracting and retaining cancer care volunteers as part of the effort to develop a volunteer recruitment model. Data were collected through three focus group discussions involving 19 cancer support group members in Malaysia. Findings of the study revealed that mobility and locality appeared to be significant in Malaysian context, while the need for financial support and time flexibility are challenges faced by cancer support groups to attract and retain volunteers. The findings imply that cancer care initiatives can benefit from more local volunteers but at the same time these volunteers require flexibility and financial support to sustain their engagement.
  4. Momtaz YA, Hamid TA, Ibrahim R, Akahbar SA
    Arch Gerontol Geriatr, 2014 Jan-Feb;58(1):51-5.
    PMID: 24021247 DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2013.08.003
    Sexuality as an important part of life has not been well studied in Malaysia, particularly among older adults. The main aim of this study was to investigate the racial and socioeconomic differences in sexual activity among older married Malaysians. Data for this study consisting of 1036 older married adults aged 60 years and older were obtained from the nationwide community-based cross-sectional survey entitled "Determinants of Wellness among Older Malaysian: A Health Promotion Perspective", conducted in 2010. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 for Windows. The results showed that 57.3% (95% CI: 54.3-60.3) of the respondents (61.6% of men and 50.6% of women) had engaged in sexual intercourse during the last 12 months. The adjusted multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that ethnicity and educational attainment were independently and significantly associated with sexual activity, after controlling for the possible confounding effects of chronic medical conditions and demographic characteristics. The findings from this study do support the notion that sexuality is a lifelong need and cultural teachings and formal education may have important role in maintaining the quality of sexuality in later life.
  5. Momtaz YA, Ibrahim R, Hamid TA, Yahaya N
    Aging Ment Health, 2011 May;15(4):437-45.
    PMID: 21500010 DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2010.536141
    Psychological well-being as one of the most important indicators of successful aging has received substantial attention in the gerontological literature. Prior studies show that sociodemographic factors influencing elderly's psychological well-being are multiple and differ across cultures. The aim of this study was to identify significant sociodemographic predictors of psychological well-being among Malay elders.
  6. Momtaz YA, Ibrahim R, Hamid TA, Yahaya N
    Omega (Westport), 2010;61(2):145-62.
    PMID: 20712141
    Spousal death is one the most stressful life events that seriously affects the psychological well being of widowed. This study examined the mediating effects of social and personal religiosity on the psychological well being of widowed elderly people. The sample for this study was comprised of 1367 widowed and married elderly Muslims from Malaysia. Psychological well being, religiosity, and physical health were measured using WHO-5 Well being Index, Intrinsic Extrinsic religiosity scale, and a checklist of 16 physical health problems, respectively. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version-13). As expected, bivariate correlation analysis revealed that widowhood is statistically and negatively associated with psychological well being. Results of multiple hierarchical regression analyses and Sobel test showed that only the indirect effect of widowhood through personal religiosity was statistically significant (Sobel = -2.79, p < .01). Sobel test for social religiosity was not significant (Sobel = -1.54, p > .05). The results of this study confirmed earlier studies, which found that widowhood negatively affects psychological well being of elderly people. Overall, the findings show that the potential solace provided by religiosity can decrease the negative effects of widowhood on the psychological well being of widowed elderly people.
  7. Yusof HM, Ching TS, Ibrahim R, Lola S
    Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2007;16(1):49-55.
    PMID: 17215180
    A nutritional status survey of Orang Asli (Aboriginal) adults in Lembah Belum, Grik, has been conducted involving a total of 138 subjects. Jahai (58.7%) was the main ethnic group as compared to that of Temiar (41.3%). Based on the Body Mass Index (BMI) characteristics, the majority (63.2%) of the respondents were normal, 26.7% underweight and 10.1% were either overweight or obese. However, by using two different indices of waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, 1.6% and 10.8% of the total respondents revealed abdominal obesity, respectively. Measurement of mid upper arm muscle circumference (MUAMC) indicated that about 40% showed nutritional insufficiency whereas 0.8% showed over-nutrition. Body fat classification revealed that 53.4% of the respondents were thin, 45.8% at normal level and only 0.8% were obese. Student's t-test revealed a significant difference in anthropometric indices of body weight, height, MUAMC, triceps, sub-scapular, supra-iliac and body fat according to gender. Meanwhile, analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences in body weight, waist circumference, WHR and body fat according to different age categories. It was also found that those who smoked had lower BMI compared with non-smokers. Alcohol consumption was associated with higher BMI and WHR among the respondents. Pearson's correlation test between anthropometric measurements and socio-economic and demographic factors showed that ethnic group was the strongest variable.
  8. Momtaz YA, Hamid TA, Yusoff S, Ibrahim R
    Gerontology, 2013;59(3):206-12.
    PMID: 23147388 DOI: 10.1159/000342254
    Research shows marked differences in the prevalence of dementia among different ethnic groups. However, there is a relative dearth of studies focusing on how ethnicity may influence dementia. The main aim of the current study is to test potential mediating effects of depression and level of education on the association between ethnicity and dementia.
  9. Foong HF, Hamid TA, Ibrahim R, Haron SA
    Psychogeriatrics, 2020 Nov;20(6):891-899.
    PMID: 32985044 DOI: 10.1111/psyg.12614
    BACKGROUND: Little is known about gender differences in the relationship between religious orientation and life satisfaction in older adults living with chronic disease(s). Therefore, the purpose of this article was to examine the moderating effect of gender on the association between religious orientation and life satisfaction in older adults living with morbidity and multimorbidity.

    METHODS: The study involved 1790 community-dwelling older adults aged 60 and above living with at least one chronic medical condition. The Satisfaction with Life Scale and Revised Intrinsic/Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale were used to measure life satisfaction and religious orientation. Moderated hierarchical multiple regression was used to test the moderation effect.

    RESULTS: Results showed that while intrinsic religiosity was positively associated with life satisfaction, extrinsic religiosity was found to have a negative relationship with life satisfaction. Gender moderated the association between intrinsic religiosity and life satisfaction.

    CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggested that the positive impact of intrinsic religiosity on life satisfaction was stronger in older women living with morbidity and multimorbidity. Healthcare practitioners can help disadvantaged older women in identifying their religious values and practices to improve their subjective wellbeing.

  10. Ibrahim R, Hussein MZ, Yusof NA, Abu Bakar F
    Nanomaterials (Basel), 2019 Aug 31;9(9).
    PMID: 31480466 DOI: 10.3390/nano9091239
    Carbon nanotube-quicklime nanocomposites (CQNs) have been synthesized via the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of n-hexane using a nickel metal catalyst supported on calcined carbonate stones at temperatures of 600-900 °C. The use of a Ni/CaO(10 wt%) catalyst required temperatures of at least 700 °C to obtain XRD peaks attributable to carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The CQNs prepared using a Ni/CaO catalyst of various Ni contents showed varying diameters and the remaining catalyst metal particles could still be observed in the samples. Thermogravimetric analysis of the CQNs showed that there were two major weight losses due to the amorphous carbon decomposition (300-400 °C) and oxidation of CNTs (400-600 °C). Raman spectroscopy results showed that the CQNs with the highest graphitization were synthesized using Ni/CaO (10 wt%) at 800 °C with an IG/ID ratio of 1.30. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) of screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) modified with the CQNs showed that the performance of nanocomposite-modified SPCEs were better than bare SPCEs. When compared to carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes or MWNT-COOH-modified SPCEs, the CQNs synthesized using Ni/CaO (10 wt%) at 800 °C gave higher CV peak currents and comparable electron transfer, making it a good alternative for screen-printed electrode modification.
  11. Minhat HS, Mat Din H, Vasudevan R, Raja Adnan RNE, Ibrahim R
    Arch Gerontol Geriatr, 2019 01 08;81:240-244.
    PMID: 30669017 DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2019.01.001
    BACKGROUND: Physical and pathological changes associated with advancing age affect sexual behaviours of the elderly. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of gender on sexual problems and perceptions among the urban Malay elderly.

    METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 160 Malaysian elderly participants aged 60 years and older who live in Kuala Lumpur. Twelve neighbourhood associations were randomly selected using multi-stage cluster sampling. Data was collected using standardized and validated questionnaire by face-to-face interview technique with which was conducted by trained interviewers.

    RESULTS: Mean age of the participants was 65.33 (5.87) year old with majority were still married. Female (55.7%) reported more sexual problems as evidenced by the higher proportion of those with lacked interest in having sex (72.5%), find sex is unpleasant (34.8%) and unable to come to orgasm (55.1%). Gender was found to have significant impact on every model obtained in the analysis for both sexual problems and perceptions. Female elderly were 10.6 times more likely to have sexual problem compared to male elderly (OR = 10.64, P 

  12. Hassan SMU, Hamid TA, Haron SA, Ibrahim R
    Psychogeriatrics, 2020 Jan;20(1):59-69.
    PMID: 31016831 DOI: 10.1111/psyg.12458
    BACKGROUND: The link between the filial behaviour of an adult child and older parents' well-being is well entrenched, and theoretical evidence has indicated that it may be mediated by emotional regulation. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine whether emotional regulation (i.e. cognitive reappraisal and suppression) mediates the association between filial behaviour of the oldest son (i.e. the filial behaviour of respect and filial behaviour of daily maintenance) and subjective well-being in older parents.

    METHODS: This correlational study recruited 400 community-dwelling older parents in Rawalpindi Pakistan through a multistage cluster random sampling technique. Subjective well-being was measured by Concise Measure of Subjective Well-being; filial behaviour was examined through receipt of 12 domains; emotional regulation was assessed by using the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire. The structural equation modelling was employed to test the mediation effects.

    RESULTS: Cognitive reappraisal was found to partially mediate the relationship between filial behaviour of respect and subjective well-being (β in direct model = 0.661, P 

  13. Hamid TA, Din HM, Bagat MF, Ibrahim R
    Front Public Health, 2021;9:624394.
    PMID: 34026706 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.624394
    Living arrangement has been reported to have a significant influence on several mental health statuses of older adults, but their social network may confound this association. This study is aimed at examining the interactive effect of living arrangements and social network on the mental health status among older adults in Malaysia. A total of 2,188 Malaysian older adults living nationwide were included in this cross-sectional study. Participants were classified into four groups according to their living arrangements (living alone or not living alone) and social network size (assessed using Lubben's Social Network Scale-6). Poor social network was defined as the lowest quartile (fourth quartile) of the score. Mental health statuses, which include flourishing in life, life satisfaction, cognitive functions, loneliness, depression, and perceived stress, were measured. Multiple linear regression models, adjusted for age, gender, education, and comorbidities, revealed that a good social network was significantly associated with an increase on the flourishing scale scores, regardless of living arrangements. Not living alone and having good social network was significantly associated with increased Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores and decreased loneliness scores. This study found that living arrangements are not always a risk factor for the mental health status of older adults. However, it may be confounded by the level of their social networks. The results suggested that the effects of social network may exceed the impact of living arrangements. It is recommended that health professionals pay more attention to the social networks of older Malaysians to harness its benefits in improving their mental health status.
  14. Farzin A, Ibrahim R, Madon Z, Basri H, Farzin S, Motalebizadeh A
    Front Public Health, 2021;9:594953.
    PMID: 33968872 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.594953
    Prospective Memory (PM) is a cognitive function affected by aging. PM is the memory of future intentions and is significantly involved in everyday life, especially among older adults. Nevertheless, there are a few studies focused on PM training among healthy older adults and these studies did not report the optimal duration of training regarding improving PM performance among older adults. The present study aimed to determine the effective duration for training PM performance among healthy older adults. The current study was a randomized, controlled, single-blind, within-participants crossover trial including a training program with a duration of 12 h. The sample of 25 older adults aged 55 to 74 years recruited from the active members of the University of the Third Age (U3A), Kuala Lumpur/Selangor, their family members, and friends. The study design ensured some participants would receive the training after baseline while others would wait for 6 weeks after the baseline before receiving the training. All participants were evaluated five times: at baseline, 6, 12, 16, and at 24 weeks post-baseline. Moreover, the training program ensured all participants were assessed after each training session. The minimum number of hours to achieve training effects for this multi-component training program was eight. Results supported the efficacy of the training program in improving PM performance among healthy older adults. Also, the optimal duration for the multicomponent training program on PM performance among healthy older adults was obtained. This trial is registered at isrctn.com (#ISRCTN57600070).
  15. Foong HF, Haron SA, Koris R, Hamid TA, Ibrahim R
    Psychogeriatrics, 2021 Jul;21(4):586-595.
    PMID: 33969594 DOI: 10.1111/psyg.12709
    BACKGROUND: Low financial well-being is a common predicament among older adults living in poverty. The existing literature suggests a correlation between financial well-being and mental health in old age. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the relationships among financial well-being, life satisfaction, and cognitive function among low-income older adults and to examine the moderating effect of sex on these relationships.

    METHODS: This study involved 2004 nationally representative community-dwelling older Malaysians from the bottom 40% household income group. Financial well-being was assessed by the four-item financial satisfaction scale, while life satisfaction was measured by the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Cognitive function was measured by using the Malay version of the Mini-Mental State Examination. Hierarchical multiple regression was used as the prime method for statistical analysis.

    RESULTS: Financial well-being was positively associated with life satisfaction and cognitive function. Sex moderated the relationship between financial well-being and life satisfaction but not between financial well-being and cognitive function.

    CONCLUSIONS: Financial well-being and life satisfaction were strongly correlated among older women, although no gender difference was found for the relationship between financial well-being and cognitive function. It appears financial well-being strongly predicts mental health. As such, poverty eradication initiatives targeting low-income older adults should be implemented to sustain life satisfaction and cognitive function.

  16. Foong HF, Hamid TA, Ibrahim R, Haron SA
    Aging Ment Health, 2018 04;22(4):483-488.
    PMID: 28060527 DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2016.1274376
    OBJECTIVES: Research has found that depression in later life is associated with cognitive impairment. Thus, the mechanism to reduce the effect of depression on cognitive function is warranted. In this paper, we intend to examine whether intrinsic religiosity mediates the association between depression and cognitive function.

    METHOD: The study included 2322 nationally representative community-dwelling elderly in Malaysia, randomly selected through a multi-stage proportional cluster random sampling from Peninsular Malaysia. The elderly were surveyed on socio-demographic information, cognitive function, depression and intrinsic religiosity. A four-step moderated hierarchical regression analysis was employed to test the moderating effect. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (version 15.0).

    RESULTS: Bivariate analyses showed that both depression and intrinsic religiosity had significant relationships with cognitive function. In addition, four-step moderated hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the intrinsic religiosity moderated the association between depression and cognitive function, after controlling for selected socio-demographic characteristics.

    CONCLUSION: Intrinsic religiosity might reduce the negative effect of depression on cognitive function. Professionals who are working with depressed older adults should seek ways to improve their intrinsic religiosity as one of the strategies to prevent cognitive impairment.

  17. Foong HF, Hamid TA, Ibrahim R, Haron SA
    Australas J Ageing, 2018 Jun 26.
    PMID: 29947130 DOI: 10.1111/ajag.12555
    OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study was to examine whether neuroticism mediates the association between loneliness and cognitive function in older adults.

    METHODS: This study involved 2322 representative community residents aged 60-92 years in Peninsular Malaysia. Cognition was measured by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), loneliness was assessed by three-item loneliness scale, and neuroticism was assessed by the Short-Form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple linear regression and Sobel tests were used for mediation analyses.

    RESULTS: Both loneliness (β = -0.04, P = 0.03) and neuroticism (β = -0.07, P < 0.001) were negatively and significantly associated with cognitive function, and most importantly, neuroticism mediated the association between loneliness and cognition (from β = -0.04, P = 0.03 to β = -0.03, P = 0.10).

    CONCLUSION: Neuroticism may be the potential mechanism underlying the relationship between loneliness and cognitive function in older persons.

  18. Foong HF, Hamid TA, Ibrahim R, Haron SA
    BMC Geriatr, 2021 09 27;21(1):516.
    PMID: 34579665 DOI: 10.1186/s12877-021-02475-5
    BACKGROUND: Ethnicity/race and poverty are among determinants of health in older persons. However, studies involving intersectional effects of ethnicity/race and poverty on health of older adults within multi-ethnic Asian populace is limited. Hence, this study aimed to examine the intersectional effects of ethnicity/race and poverty on cognitive function, depressive symptoms, and multimorbidity among community-dwelling older adults in Malaysia.

    METHODS: Data were obtained from the first wave of a Peninsular Malaysia national survey - "Identifying Psychosocial and Identifying Economic Risk Factor of Cognitive Impairment among Elderly". Log-binomial regression was used to identify intersectional effects and associations between control variables and health outcomes. A comparison between Malay and non-Malay older adults within the same poverty group, as well as hardcore poor and non-hardcore poor older people within the same ethnicity groups, were conducted to understand the intersectional effects of ethnicity/race and poverty on health.

    RESULTS: Prevalence of cognitive impairment was highest among hardcore poor Malay group, while the risk of depression and multimorbidity were highest among hardcore poor non-Malays. In the hardcore poor group, Malay ethnicity was associated with higher prevalence of cognitive impairment but lower prevalence of depression risk and multimorbidity. In the Malay group, hardcore poor was associated with higher prevalence of cognitive impairment; however, no association was found between hardcore poor with depression risk and multimorbidity after controlling for covariates.

    CONCLUSIONS: Health outcomes of Malaysian older adults differ according to ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Given the importance of demographic characteristics on health outcomes, design of interventions targeting older adults within multi-ethnic settings must address specific characteristics, especially that of ethnicity and sociodemographic status so as to fulfil their needs. Several implications for future practice were discussed.

  19. Elbanan WK, Fathy SA, Ibrahim RA, Hegazy MGA
    Trop Biomed, 2020 Dec 01;37(4):1093-1104.
    PMID: 33612761 DOI: 10.47665/tb.37.4.1093
    Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Egypt is the most serious health problem. Identifying HCV-positive persons at high risk of early complications can help prioritize treatment decisions. Recently, attention has been directed to non-invasive, accurate alternatives using serum biochemical markers. The transforming growth factor β 1/interleukins pathway plays an important role in the process of cell injury and inflammation. Thus, TGF-β1 and IL-17 were assessed in serum of chronic HCV patients with correlation to hepatic inflammatory and fibrotic status. The quantitative serum levels of TGF-β1 and IL-17 were analyzed among chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients (n=75) and normal control (NC) subjects (n=15). Disease severity in patients was assessed using the Child-Pugh scores and METAVIR. Serum levels of TGF-β1 and IL-17 were significantly increased in HCV patients compared to control group. Furthermore, the levels of TGF-β1 and Il-17 were positively correlated to serum transaminases and alpha-fetoprotein and they were negatively correlated with serum albumin and platelets. Additionally, the serum levels of TGF-β1 and Il-17 were associated with inflammation grades and stages of liver fibrosis. TGF-β1 and IL-17 may be hopeful serum biomarkers concerned in the progression of liver inflammation and fibrosis accompanying chronic HCV infection. Therefore, they could be used in the future as targets for anti-fibrotic therapy of chronic HCV to ameliorate the disease progress.
  20. Foong HF, Ibrahim R, Hamid TA, Haron SA
    BMC Geriatr, 2021 12 07;21(1):679.
    PMID: 34876024 DOI: 10.1186/s12877-021-02617-9
    BACKGROUND: Physical fitness declines with age. Low levels of physical fitness appear to be a risk factor of cognitive impairment. Literature elucidates social networking as a potential moderator for the relationship between physical fitness and cognitive impairment. Present study aimed to examine the relationship between physical fitness and cognitive function among community-dwelling older Malaysians, and if social network moderates said relationship.

    METHODS: Data of 2322 representative community-dwelling older adults were obtained from the first wave of the "Longitudinal Study on Neuroprotective Model for Healthy Longevity" national survey. Cognitive function, physical fitness and social network was assessed through Malay-version of Mini-Mental State Examination, 2-min step test and Lubben Social Network Scale-6 respectively. Moderated hierarchical multiple regression was employed to investigate if social networks moderate the relationship between physical fitness and cognitive function.

    RESULTS: A positive association between physical fitness and cognitive function were found upon controlling for covariates. Moderated hierarchical multiple regression revealed social networks to be a moderator of the association between physical fitness and cognitive function. When physical fitness was low, those with small social network revealed lowest cognitive function.

    CONCLUSIONS: Social networks moderated the relationship between physical fitness and cognitive function as older adults with low levels of physical fitness and small social networks revealed lowest cognitive function. Therefore, community support or peer-based interventions among physically unfit older adults should be implemented to promote cognitive function.

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