MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cancer registry from 1994 to 2012 maintained by the State Laboratory was retrospectively reviewed. Crude incidence rates were calculated based on the population census of 2010.
RESULTS: Altogether, there was a total of 418 cancer cases diagnosed among South-East Asians, giving an incidence of 5.1% (n=418/8,253). The affected nationals in decreasing frequency were Malaysians (53.1%), followed by Filipinos (25.8%), Indonesians (15.3%), Thais (3.8%), Myanmese (1.7%) and Vietnamese (0.2%) with no recorded cases for Singapore and the People's Republic of Laos. The overall mean age of diagnosis was 46.1±4.2 years old, with an increasing trend over the years (p<0.05 ANOVA). The overall gender ratio was 42.3:57.7 (male:female), more females among the Filipinos and Indonesians, more males among the Thais, and equal representation among the Malaysians and the Myanmese. The most common were cancers of the digestive system (19.9%), followed by female reproductive/gynecologic system (16.0%), breast (15.6%), hematological/lymphatic (12.0%) and head/neck (8.1%). There were differences in the prevalence of cancers among the various nationalities with highest crude incidence rate among the Myanmese (141.2/100,000), followed by the Malaysian (88.5/100,000), and the Filipinos (40.6/100,000) and the lowest among the Thais (18.4/100,000), Indonesians (10.5/100,000) and the Vietnamese (6.3/100,000).
CONCLUSIONS: Cancers among South-East Asian residing in Brunei Darussalam accounted for 5.1% of all cancers. The most common cancers were cancers of the digestive, gynecologic/female reproductive system and breast with certain types slowly increasing in proportions. There mean age of diagnoses was increasing.
DESIGN: A cross-sectional study performed using an anonymous online questionnaire distributed through social media, email and the Department of Social Welfare.
SETTING: Malaysian families were invited to answer the questionnaires. The sampling was performed between 12 May 2020 and 9 June 2020.
INTERVENTION: The psychological impact was assessed using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES). The mental health status was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) 21.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: (1) Psychological impact on Malaysian families. (2) Prevalence of mental health status of Malaysian families during COVID-19 pandemic.
RESULT: A total of 409 Malaysian families have responded (409 parents and 348 children), 154 respondents (38%) reported high psychological impact (score 14) for psychological construct and 189 respondents (46%) reported high psychological impact (score 6) for behavioural construct. A significantly higher proportion of respondents with not permanent employment status of the family lead reported high psychological impact. The prevalence of anxiety reported from family respondents was 23%. Forty-five children answered the DASS-21 questionnaire; 28.5% reported anxiety, 31.4% reported depression and 13.3% reported stress. The job security status of the family lead was found to be the predictive factor for the mean total IES-R score (psychological construct) and ethnicity for mean total CRIES-8 and CRIES-13.
CONCLUSION: Rates of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic were high. Findings suggest that urgent measures to ensure job security among Malaysian families are important to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial and mental health outcomes.
METHODS: In the multi-centre controlled attenuation parameter (CAP)-Asia study, we collected clinical data and lifestyle habit data of NAFLD patients from Singapore, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.
RESULTS: A total of 555 patients were included in the final analysis (mean age 54.5 ± 11.2 years, 54.1% men and median liver stiffness 6.7 kPa). More patients from mainland China (27.4%) and Taipei (25.0%) were smokers. Modest drinking was more common in Taiwan (25.0%) and Hong Kong (18.2%); only 1.3% had binge drinking. Majority of patients drank coffee (64.0%) and tea (80.2%), with varying amounts and durations in different regions. Soft drinks consumption was most common in Singapore (62.2%) and Malaysia (57.7%). Only 29.7% of patients met the Physical Activity Guidelines Recommendations, with no major differences across regions. Patients with liver stiffness <10 kPa were more likely to report any vigorous activity, and sitting time was an independent factor associated with high CAP. Tea and coffee consumption were independently associated with high CAP and liver stiffness, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite some heterogeneity, unhealthy lifestyle and physical inactivity are common across Asian regions. Patients with liver stiffness <10 kPa were more likely to report any vigorous activity. Healthcare providers may use the comparative data to identify areas of deficiency.
METHODOLOGY: The data for the study consisting of 1067 community-dwelling older adults were obtained from a national survey entitled "Identifying Psychosocial and Identifying Economic Risk Factor of Cognitive Impairment among Elderly", conducted in Malaysia. The hypotension was considered as blood pressure <120/75 mm Hg, measuring by standard mercury manometer. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS Version 22.0.
RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 68.27 (SD = 5.93). Mean score of cognitive function as measured by MMSE was 22.70 (SD = 4.95). The prevalence of hypotension was 29.3%. The prevalence of cognitive impairment for hypotension group was 25.6%. Results of multiple linear regression analysis revealed that hypotension is negatively associated with cognitive function (Beta = -0.11, p