Displaying publications 421 - 440 of 477 in total

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  1. Vielot NA, Goldberg SK, Zimet G, Smith SB, Anne McDonald M, Ramos S, et al.
    Papillomavirus Res, 2017 Jun;3:126-133.
    PMID: 28720446 DOI: 10.1016/j.pvr.2017.04.001
    INTRODUCTION: Multipurpose vaccines (MPVs) could be formulated to prevent multiple sexually transmitted infections simultaneously. Little is known about acceptability of MPVs among vaccine health care providers (HCPs) or mothers of adolescent girls.

    METHODS: 151 adolescent vaccine providers and 118 mothers of adolescent girls aged 9-14 were recruited from five geographically-diverse countries: Argentina, Malaysia, South Africa, South Korea, and Spain. We assessed providers' preferences for single-purpose human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine versus MPVs (including HPV+herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2, HPV+HIV, or HPV+HSV-2+HIV) via quantitative surveys. Maternal MPV attitudes were assessed in four focus group discussions (FGDs) in each country.

    RESULTS: Most providers preferred MPVs over single-purpose HPV vaccination, with preference ranging from 61% in Malaysia to 96% in South Africa. HPV+HSV-2+HIV was the most preferred MPV formulation (56-82%). Overall, 53% of the mothers preferred MPVs over single-purpose HPV vaccines, with strongest support in South Africa (90%) and lowest support in South Korea (29%). Convenience and trust in the health care system were commonly-cited reasons for MPV acceptability. Safety and efficacy concerns were common barriers to accepting MPVs, though specific concerns differed by country. Across FGDs, additional safety and efficacy information on MPVs were requested, particularly from trusted sources like HCPs.

    CONCLUSIONS: Though maternal acceptability of MPVs varied by country, MPV acceptability would be enhanced by having HCPs provide parents with additional MPV vaccine safety and efficacy information. While most providers preferred MPVs, future health behavior research should identify acceptability barriers, and targeted provider interventions should equip providers to improve vaccination discussions with parents.

    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  2. Mohd Sopian M, Shaaban J, Mohd Yusoff SS, Wan Mohamad WMZ
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2018 Jun 25;19(6):1509-1514.
    PMID: 29936724
    Background: The incidence of cervical cancer in younger women remains high. This is worrisome as it affects
    future generations. Therefore Malaysia implements human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination as a national vaccination
    program. Parents play an important role in determining the success of this HPV vaccination program among schoolaged
    girls by their compliance. Objective: To assess parental knowledge, decision-making and acceptance of HPV
    vaccination. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted among 280 randomly selected parents of primary
    school students aged 11 in Kota Bharu using a pre-validated self-administered questionnaire to assess knowledge and
    decision-making with regard to HPV vaccination. Results: Most parents (62%) were shown to have poor knowledge
    while most decision-making was shared. Age of respondents (adjusted odds ratio ‘AOR’= 1.09; 95% confidence interval
    ‘CI’= 1.04-1.14; p <0.001) and good knowledge of HPV vaccination (AOR= 16.32; 95% CI= 7.32-36.4; p <0.001) were
    significantly associated with HPV vaccine acceptance. Conclusion: The majority of parents exhibited poor knowledge
    which may affect their decision-making and uptake of HPV vaccination among their children. This highlights the need
    to better educate parents on HPV vaccination.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  3. Nurzaime Zulaily, Aryati Ahmad, Mohd Razif Shahril, Sharifah Wajihah Wafa Syed Saadun Tarek Wafa, Nor Saidah Abd Manan, Engku Fadzli Hassan Syed Abdullah, et al.
    MyJurnal
    Worldwide prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents increased substantially over decades. Addressing potential risk factors of obesity among adolescents is very important for a successful intervention program in this population. The present study aimed to identify the sociodemographic determinants of obesity among school adolescents in Terengganu. A cross-sectional survey involving 3,798 school adolescents age 12 years old from 136 government primary schools in Kuala Terengganu and Besut districts were carried out from November 2014 to June 2015. For the purpose of this paper, the data for 2,842 school adolescents classified as either normal BMI (< +1SD) (n= 2,305) or obese (+2SD) (n= 537) based on WHO cut-off points were taken for analysis. Sociodemographic information on subjects and their parents were obtained from self-reported questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were conducted by Physical Education teachers and uploaded into a specific developed database. The prevalence of obesity was relatively high in both genders in this study. Binary logistic regression analysis found gender, parental BMI, household income, household size and maternal working status were independently associated with obesity among school adolescents in this population. In the final model, being male, having working mother, and having obese parents were identified to be potential risk factors for obesity whilst having large household size lower the risk of obesity among these adolescents. Prevention programs are needed to increase awareness about the risk factors of obesity in adolescent and interventions should now focus on family member as well mainly the parents.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  4. Mohamed M, Lau DSC, Loh CK, Syed Zakaria SZ, Alias H, A Jamal AR, et al.
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Parents of children with chronic illness such as thalassaemia, experience parental anxiety as a result of multiple stressors; these parents will consequently undergo the process of coping and adjustment in order to overcome the situation. Identifying families who may require psychosocial intervention is an important step towards providing holistic management for these children.

    Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the level of parenting stress amongst parents of children with thalassaemia. Risk factors associated with high parenting stress score were identified. Research instruments used were the Parenting Stress Index/Short Form and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations.

    Results: A total of 54 subjects were recruited. High total parenting stress score (TPSS, defined at 75th centile) for this cohort was 99.5 whereas the mean TPSS was 86.18. Overall, 24% of these parents have high TPSS. Chinese ethnicity, number of children, monthly income, task-oriented and emotion-oriented coping mechanisms were significantly associated with a high TPSS. Logistic regression analysis revealed that low task-oriented but high emotion-oriented scores were risk factors with the greatest predictive power.

    Conclusion: Early recognition of parenting stress is important to identify at risk parents so that interventions such as counseling and social support may be given.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  5. Chaw S, Lo Y, Shariffuddin II, Wong J, Lee J, Leong DW, et al.
    Paediatr Anaesth, 2019 01;29(1):68-76.
    PMID: 30381868 DOI: 10.1111/pan.13528
    BACKGROUND: Effective pain management involves a cycle of continual pain assessment, good pain control strategies, and assessment of a standard quality improvement measures. A validated questionnaire that focuses on the quality of postoperative pain management in pediatric surgical patients and parental satisfaction on pain treatment is lacking. We, therefore, modified the revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire to evaluate the quality of postoperative pain management in a pediatric surgical setting. The primary aim of this study was to validate the modified version of revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire.

    METHODS: Parents whose children aged below 12 years and were scheduled for elective surgery in a teaching hospital, were approached to participate in this survey. The reliability of the modified version of revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha test, while the construct validity was assessed with a principal component analysis using a varimax rotation. The parental satisfaction with pain treatment received was measured.

    RESULTS: A total of 108 parents completed the questionnaire. The internal consistency of the questionnaire shows a Cronbach's alpha of 0.798. Principal component analysis revealed a four-factor structure of the 12 items which explained 69.7% of the total variance. The factors are "Interference of sleep and activity," "Pain severity and drowsiness," "Perception of care," and "Adverse effects," respectively. Our study showed that this questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure for "Interference of sleep and activity" and "Pain severity and drowsiness" factors, but not for "Perception of care" and "Adverse effects." The results for "Perception of care" and "Adverse effects," therefore, should be reported as individual items instead of total score. The parental satisfaction with pain treatment given was good (median 8.0; IQR 3.0).

    CONCLUSION: The modified version of revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire is a feasible and easy instrument to administer. The questionnaire can be used to obtain feedback from parents about the outcomes and experiences of pain management and is helpful in continuous quality evaluation and improvement in the postoperative care in a pediatric setting.

    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  6. Sathyabama R
    Med J Malaysia, 2019 Oct;74(5):372-376.
    PMID: 31649211
    OBJECTIVE: To explore socio-demographics and clinical characteristics of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at Child Development Clinic (CDC), Penang Hospital.

    STUDY DESIGN: A record review study of 331 children with ASD attending CDC, Penang Hospital from September 2013 to April 2017.

    RESULTS: Out of 331 children with ASD, 82.5% were males, 17.5% females, with male to female ratio of 4.7:1. Mean age at consultation was 5 years and 6 months (SD 31.68 months) with age range from 19 months to 18 years and 4 months. 85.8% were term infants with normal birth weight. History of speech regression was noted in 14.8%, epilepsy and genetic disorders in 9.4% and 5.7% respectively. Sleep problems was reported in 29.3%, dietary issues 22.1%, challenging behaviour 24.2% and ADHD 14.2%. Mean age of the father and mother at birth was 33.6 and 31.6 years respectively.

    CONCLUSION: In this study, we report a higher male to female ratio and mean age at referral with some similar rates of neurodevelopmental and medical comorbidities and relatively younger parental age with higher parental education levels.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  7. Zaki, R.A., Roffeei, S.N., Hazwan, A.E., Musa, N.
    JUMMEC, 2018;21(2):38-44.
    MyJurnal
    Objective: The study was designed to determine the risk perception of the public population in Kota Kinabalu towards childhood immunisation.
    Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study where self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the public in Kota Kinabalu. The respondents who consented were 18 years old and older. The illiterate persons and the foreigners were excluded. The calculated sample size was 400. Only 313 samples collected were suitable for analysis using SPSS v21.0.
    Results: Fever, pain swelling and allergic reaction were correctly identified as risks of immunisation. Autism, mental retardation and even death could also result from vaccination. Of the total respondents, 76.7% agreed with the practice of childhood vaccination, 70.0% thought that childhood vaccinations were safe and effective and 58.1% felt that its benefit outweighed the risk. Other than that, 32.0% refused childhood vaccination from fear of its risks, and this fear was the main reason for the refusal of childhood vaccination. Age, marital status, race and income were the factors which influenced parental willingness to vaccinate their children (p<0.05).
    Conclusions: Most participants understood the risks of childhood vaccination, but few agreed to the practice of childhood immunisation for herd immunity. Public health campaigns are needed, to increase the understanding and acceptance of childhood vaccination especially in the rural community.
    Keywords: Childhood Immunisation, Parental Risk, Perception, Public Acceptance
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  8. Nurzaime Zulaily, Aryati Ahmad, Mohd Razif Shahril, Sharifah Wajihah Wafa Syed Saadun Tarek Wafa, Nor Saidah Abd Manan, Engku Fadzli Hassan Syed Abdullah, et al.
    Worldwide prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents increased substantially over decades. Addressing potential risk factors of obesity among adolescents is very important for a successful intervention program in this population. The present study aimed to identify the sociodemographic determinants of obesity among school adolescents in Terengganu. A cross-sectional survey involving 3,798 school adolescents age 12 years old from 136 government primary schools in Kuala Terengganu and Besut districts were carried out from November 2014 to June 2015. For the purpose of this paper, the data for 2,842 school adolescents classified as either normal BMI (< +1SD) (n= 2,305) or obese (+2SD) (n= 537) based on WHO cut-off points were taken for analysis. Sociodemographic information on subjects and their parents were obtained from self-reported questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were conducted by Physical Education teachers and uploaded into a specific developed database. The prevalence of obesity was relatively high in both genders in this study. Binary logistic regression analysis found gender, parental BMI, household income, household size and maternal working status were independently associated with obesity among school adolescents in this population. In the final model, being male, having working mother, and having obese parents were identified to be potential risk factors for obesity whilst having large household size lower the risk of obesity among these adolescents. Prevention programs are needed to increase awareness about the risk factors of obesity in adolescent and interventions should now focus on family member as well mainly the parents.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  9. Ahzad Hadi Ahmad, Rabiatul Basria S.M.N. Mydin, Nur Ain Nisrina Roan, Abdul Rahman Azhari, Narazah Mohd Yusoff
    MyJurnal
    Advanced parental age is a risk factor for chromosomal abnormalities in their offspring. Trisomy X or Triple X syn- drome has previously been reported with advanced maternal age. Here we report two (2) cases of Trisomy X with paternal age as risk factor. Generally, Trisomy X individuals show variable physical and psychological manifesta- tions. However, both cases reported here have advanced paternal age as a risk factor; 55 years old (46 years old at conception) for Case 1 with patient having right eye squint, beaked nose, Posterior Misalignment Type Ventricular Septal Defect (PMVSD) and small Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) with failure to thrive and 49 years old (45 years old at conception) for Case 2 with speech delay and protruding tongue. In view of that, advanced paternal age could possibly contribute the accumulation of de novo mutations in germ line mosaicism.

    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  10. Junus S, Chew CC, Sugunan P, Meor-Aziz NF, Zainal NA, Hassan HM, et al.
    BMC Public Health, 2021 10 15;21(1):1860.
    PMID: 34654405 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-11825-2
    BACKGROUND: Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure can affect physical development in children. An understanding of parental risk perception of SHS could guide efforts to develop measures for prevention of SHS exposure among children. This study aimed to assess parental risk perceptions of SHS and action taken by parents to minimise SHS exposure in their children.

    METHODS: This cross-sectional nationwide study conducted in 2018 recruited convenience sample of 289 parents with children up to age 12 at public areas. Parents were asked to rate the risk level from 1 (no risk) to 5 (extremely high risk) by looking at photographs of an adult smoking in the presence of a child in 8 different situations. The implementation of smoking restriction rules was assessed. Mean scores were calculated with higher scores representing higher risk perception of SHS to child's health. Linear regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with the level of parental risk perception of SHS exposure to their children's health.

    RESULTS: A total of 246 parents responded. Their mean age was 35 years (SD 6.4). The majority were mothers (75.6%), Malays (72.0%) and had tertiary education level (82.5%), and non-smoker (87.1%). The mean age of respondents' youngest child was 3 years (SD 3.1). The risk perception level was high [mean scores: 4.11 (SD: 0.82)]. Most parents implemented household (65.0%) and car (68.3%) smoking restriction rules. Lower levels of risk perception were observed among participants who were current smokers (p 

    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  11. Mohamed Nasir AD, Mohd Kassim AB
    MyJurnal
    ABSTRACTS FOR INTERNATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH CONFERENCE 2019 (I-FaH 2019). Health Intervention Towards Community Wellness, Held at Oriental Crystal Hotel, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia .4-5th September, 2019
    Introduction: Obesity, a major risk factor for chronic disease, is a growing problem in Malaysia. Current data from the National Health Morbidity Survey (NHMS) shows that prevalence of overweight for children under five years has increased from 6.5% (NHMS 2011) to 7.6 % (NHMS 2015). Childhood obesity needs to be addressed as studies also have shown that childhood obesity contributes to adult chronic disease. Increase in chronic diseases will cause an increase in health care cost. Intervention programmes are available and currently target schoolchildren and adults. No programme yet targeting at children under five years. This survey was conducted to understand parents level of knowledge with regards to healthy lifestyle among children under-5 years.
    Methods: Parents attending Health Clinics in the state of Perak were given self-administered questionnaire.
    Results: Twenty two (22) Health Clinics from 11 districts in Perak were involved in the survey. A total of 600 parents or care givers participated. Majority were unaware of good sleep hygiene and screen time limitation.
    Conclusion: Awareness of healthy lifestyle for children under 5 years has not been given due attention. Health intervention via promotion is needed for prevention of obesity.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  12. Peng TN
    Malays J Reprod Health, 1986 Dec;4(2):91-6.
    PMID: 12314888
    PIP: In Peninsular Malaysia, while the female population aged 15-19 years registered a growth of some 240,000 persons between 1966-1984, the number of births occurring to teenage mothers has decreased by 15,176 from 33,348 to 18,172 during the same period. In 1966, teenage births constituted some 10.8% of the total births but has declined to 4.7% by 1984. A breakdown of the 1984 data by detailed age groups shows that only 0.9% of the teenage births had actually occurred among those below 15 years of age. The declining trend in teenage births, particularly the higher order births among the very young mothers, augurs well for the improvement in family welfare. However, in order to safeguard the health and welfare of mothers and children, concerted efforts should continue to be undertaken to integrate population, family health and family life education into the school curriculum.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  13. Gabriel R, Shantharajan A
    Malays J Reprod Health, 1994 Jun;12(1):10-3.
    PMID: 12320336
    PIP: Data from 297 interviews among married patients attending prenatal clinics in Malaysia in 1993 are used to determine the number, spacing, and timing of pregnancies. Only live born children are included. Findings indicate that 92.2% of women were 18-35 years old, 4.2% were under 18 years of age, and 3.6% were over 35 years old. 86.2% had 4 or fewer children and 13.8% had 4 or more children. 69.7% spaced children 2 or more years apart and 30.3% had birth spacing of under 2 years. Over 90% of women had their pregnancies during the ages of 18 and 35 years.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  14. Vikneswaran Sabramani, Halim Ismail, Asrul Abdul Wahab
    Int J Public Health Res, 2015;5(2):584-591.
    MyJurnal
    Introduction Helminthiasis is a common parasitic condition particularly among children in
    rural areas in developing countries where poor hygiene standard is practiced.
    The study aimed to determine the prevalence of helminthiasis among Indian
    preschoolers in urban areas in Penang and its associated factors.

    Methods A total of 194 urban Indian preschoolers aged 4 to 6 years old were selected
    randomly from 11 kindergartens in the state of Penang for this cross sectional
    study. Data collection was carried out in 2 phases. First, microscopic stool
    examinations were done to examine the presence of helminths. Second, self
    administered questionnaires which inquired about human, environment and
    socioeconomic factors were completed by the parents/guardians.

    Results The overall prevalence of helminthiasis was 7.2% and the most frequently
    encountered infective agent was Ascaris lumbricoides (57.1%) and followed
    by the tapeworms (42.86%). The logistic regression indicated that habitual
    thumb sucking (AOR= 5.6. 95%CI: 1.73-18.39) and families owning
    domestic pets (AOR= 3.2; 95%CI: 1.03-10.14) were the significant
    contributing factors to helminthiasis among the Indian pre-schoolers in urban
    Penang. Although the prevalence of helminth infection among the urban
    Indian preschoolers is lower than rural area, it is still a public health concern.
    Children habitual thumb sucking and rearing domestic pets at home were the
    significant contributing factors in helminthiasis.

    Conclusion Prevention strategy should focus on health education and promotion among
    adults and children, awareness on domestic animal hygiene and maintaining
    good environmental sanitation. Multi agency collaboration is clearly
    essential, especially between state health, education and veterinary
    departments in curbing this disease.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  15. Poonual W, Navacharoen N, Kangsanarak J, Namwongprom S, Saokaew S
    Korean J Pediatr, 2017 Nov;60(11):353-358.
    PMID: 29234358 DOI: 10.3345/kjp.2017.60.11.353
    Purpose: To develop and evaluate a simple screening tool to assess hearing loss in newborns. A derived score was compared with the standard clinical practice tool.

    Methods: This cohort study was designed to screen the hearing of newborns using transiently evoked otoacoustic emission and auditory brain stem response, and to determine the risk factors associated with hearing loss of newborns in 3 tertiary hospitals in Northern Thailand. Data were prospectively collected from November 1, 2010 to May 31, 2012. To develop the risk score, clinical-risk indicators were measured by Poisson risk regression. The regression coefficients were transformed into item scores dividing each regression-coefficient with the smallest coefficient in the model, rounding the number to its nearest integer, and adding up to a total score.

    Results: Five clinical risk factors (Craniofacial anomaly, Ototoxicity, Birth weight, family history [Relative] of congenital sensorineural hearing loss, and Apgar score) were included in our COBRA score. The screening tool detected, by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, more than 80% of existing hearing loss. The positive-likelihood ratio of hearing loss in patients with scores of 4, 6, and 8 were 25.21 (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.69-43.26), 58.52 (95% CI, 36.26-94.44), and 51.56 (95% CI, 33.74-78.82), respectively. This result was similar to the standard tool (The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing) of 26.72 (95% CI, 20.59-34.66).

    Conclusion: A simple screening tool of five predictors provides good prediction indices for newborn hearing loss, which may motivate parents to bring children for further appropriate testing and investigations.

    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  16. Umat C, Mukari SZS, Nordin N, A/L Annamalay T, Othman BF
    Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol, 2018 Apr;107:69-74.
    PMID: 29501315 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2018.01.031
    OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study were to compare the mainstream school readiness skills of young cochlear implant (CI) users to that of a group of normal hearing (NH) children and assessed the inter-rater agreement between parents and teachers on school readiness skills of the CI children.

    METHODS: A total of 11 parents and 8 teachers of the 6-year old CI children participated and rated the children using the School Readiness Scale to Year One. Data from 207 6-year old NH children from five states in Malaysia were also collected using the same scale which has nine domains. Results from the NH children were categorized into the 25th and 75th percentile scores to be the reference cut-offs for below average (below the 25th percentile), average (25th to 75th percentile) and above average (above 75th percentile).

    RESULTS: The school readiness skills of the CI children were lower than the NH group as rated by teachers especially in the civic and language and communication domains. Comparisons between parents' and teachers' ratings for 8 CI children indicated that teachers tended to rate the CI children's school readiness poorer than that of parents especially in the academic domain. Intra-class correlation analysis revealed poor inter-rater agreement.

    CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that our CI children, generally, need an intervention 'bridging' program to improve their school readiness skills. Parents and teachers had different views on the readiness of the CI children at school entry level.

    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  17. Kesintha A, Rampal L, Sherina MS, Kalaiselvam T
    Med J Malaysia, 2018 02;73(1):31-40.
    PMID: 29531200 MyJurnal
    INTRODUCTION: Poor sleep quality among adolescents is becoming a major worldwide concern and is widely recognized as a significant public health issue.

    OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence and predictors of poor sleep quality among secondary school students in Gombak District, Selangor.

    METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Gombak District. The sample size was 1,092 based on two group comparison formula. Students were selected using sampling with probability to proportionate to size. Selfadministered pretested questionnaires were used to collect the data. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Chi-square or Fisher's exact test was performed to determine the association between individual categorical variables and sleep quality. Variables with p-value <0.25 were selected to be subjected into multivariate logistic regression to determine the predictors.

    RESULTS: The response rate was 93.0%. The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 24.0% (95% CI = 21.5, 26.6). Based on the analysis of simple logistic regression seven variables that were significantly associated with poor sleep quality were age, gender, marital status of parents, depression, anxiety, stress and academic performance found fit in the model. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that the significant predictors of poor sleep quality were age, marital status of parents, depression, anxiety, stress and academic performance. Factors that were not statistically significant were gender, religion, ethnicity, parent's educational level and family income.

    CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of poor sleep quality among adolescents is high. The predictors of poor sleep quality are age, marital status of parents, depression, anxiety, stress and academic performance.

    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  18. Krishnaswamy S, Subramaniam K, Ramachandran P, Indran T, Abdul Aziz J
    Early Hum Dev, 2011 Mar;87(3):171-5.
    PMID: 21220193 DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2010.12.004
    Delayed parenting and child bearing at a very young age impose various risks to development of the offspring.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  19. Olesen A, Nor SN, Amin L
    J Bioeth Inq, 2016 Sep;13(3):419-29.
    PMID: 27365102 DOI: 10.1007/s11673-016-9724-2
    Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) represents the first fusion of genomics and assisted reproduction and the first reproductive technology that allows prospective parents to screen and select the genetic characteristics of their potential offspring. However, for some, the idea that we can intervene in the mechanisms of human existence at such a fundamental level can be, at a minimum, worrying and, at most, repugnant. Religious doctrines particularly are likely to collide with the rapidly advancing capability for science to make such interventions. This paper focuses on opinions and arguments of selected religious scholars regarding ethical issues pertaining to PGD. In-depth interviews were conducted with religious scholars from three different religious organizations in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Findings showed that Christian scholars are very sceptical of the long-term use of PGD because of its possible effect on the value of humanity and the parent-children relationship. This differs from Islamic scholars, who view PGD as God-given knowledge in medical science to further help humans understand medical genetics. For Buddhist scholars, PGD is considered to be new medical technology that can be used to save lives, avoid suffering, and bring happiness to those who need it. Our results suggest that it is important to include the opinions and views of religious scholars when it comes to new medical technologies such as PGD, as their opinions will have a significant impact on people from various faiths, particularly in a multi-religious country like Malaysia where society places high value on marital relationships and on the traditional concepts of family.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
  20. Appannah G, Murray K, Trapp G, Dymock M, Oddy WH, Ambrosini GL
    Am J Clin Nutr, 2020 Nov 12.
    PMID: 33181820 DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqaa281
    BACKGROUND: Although adolescent dietary patterns tend to be of poor quality, it is unclear whether dietary patterns established in adolescence persist into adulthood.

    OBJECTIVES: We examined trajectories across adolescence and early adulthood for 2 major dietary patterns and their associations with childhood and parental factors.

    METHODS: Using data from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine Study), intakes of 38 food groups were estimated at ages 14, 17, 20 and 22 y in 1414 participants using evaluated FFQs. Using factor analysis, 2 major dietary patterns (healthy and Western) were consistently identified across follow-ups. Sex-specific group-based modeling assessed the variation in individual dietary pattern z scores to identify group trajectories for each pattern between ages 14 and 22 y and to assess their associations with childhood and parental factors.

    RESULTS: Two major trajectory groups were identified for each pattern. Between ages 14 and 22 y, a majority of the cohort (70% males, 73% females) formed a trajectory group with consistently low z scores for the healthy dietary pattern. The remainder had trajectories showing either declining (27% females) or reasonably consistent healthy dietary pattern z scores (30% males). For the Western dietary pattern, the majority formed trajectories with reasonably consistent average scores (79% males, 81% females) or low scores that declined over time. However, 21% of males had a trajectory of steady, marked increases in Western dietary pattern scores over time. A lower maternal education and higher BMI (in kg/m2) were positively associated with consistently lower scores of the healthy dietary pattern. Lower family income, family functioning score, maternal age, and being in a single-parent family were positively related to higher scores of the Western dietary pattern.

    CONCLUSIONS: Poor dietary patterns established in adolescence are likely to track into early adulthood, particularly in males. This study highlights the transition between adolescence and early adulthood as a critical period and the populations that could benefit from dietary interventions.

    Matched MeSH terms: Parents
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