OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the association between wheezing symptoms among toddlers attending DCCs and indoor particulate matter, PM10, PM2.5, and microbial count level in urban DCCs in the District of Seremban, Malaysia.
METHODS: Data collection was carried out at 10 DCCs located in the urban area of Seremban. Modified validated questionnaires were distributed to parents to obtain their children's health symptoms. The parameters measured were indoor PM2.5, PM10, carbon monoxide, total bacteria count, total fungus count, temperature, air velocity, and relative humidity using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health analytical method.
RESULTS: All 10 DCCs investigated had at least one indoor air quality parameter exceeding the acceptable level of standard guidelines. The prevalence of toddlers having wheezing symptoms was 18.9%. There was a significant different in mean concentration of PM2.5 and total bacteria count between those with and those without wheezing symptoms (P = 0.02, P = 0.006).
CONCLUSIONS: Urban DCCs are exposed to many air pollutants that may enter their buildings from various adjacent sources. The particle concentrations and presence of microbes in DCCs might increase the risk of exposed children for respiratory diseases, particularly asthma, in their later life.
METHODS: A total of 200 participants (n = 100 kratom users and n = 100 healthy subjects who do not use kratom) were recruited for this analytical cross-sectional study. Data on sociodemographic status, kratom use characteristics, cigarette smoking, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), fasting serum lipid profile, and liver function were collected from all participants.
RESULTS: The liver parameters of the study participants were within normal range. The serum total cholesterol and LDL of kratom users were significantly lower than those of healthy subjects who do not use kratom. There were no significant differences in the serum triglyceride and HDL levels. However, higher average daily frequency of kratom use and increasing age were associated with increased serum total cholesterol among kratom users. Other kratom use characteristics such as age of first kratom intake, duration of kratom use, and quantity of daily kratom intake were not associated with increased serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL levels.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest regular kratom consumption was not linked to elevated serum lipids, except when there is a higher frequency of daily kratom intake. However, the study was limited by the small sample size, and hence a more comprehensive study with larger sample size is warranted to confirm the findings.
Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1007/s11069-021-04613-z).
AIM: The main aim of the present study was to design a new tool called neck pain functional limitation scale (NPFLS) for measuring disability related to neck pain and observe its reliability, concurrent validity and criterion validity.
SETTING AND DESIGN: This study was performed at the institutional hospital.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 157 subjects (neck pain group) and 25 control subjects (control group) without neck pain were recruited for this study. NPFLS was framed as a new tool for this study, which consisted of 5 domains - pain intensity, activities of daily living, social activities, functional activities and psychological factors. Neck Bournemouth questionnaire (NBQ) was used as a gold standard to measure the concurrent validity and criterion validity of the NPFLS.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Criterion validity and concurrent validity between the neck Bournemouth questionnaire (NBQ) and NPFLS scores were tested statistically using Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation test. The reliability was tested by examining the internal consistency to calculate the Cronbach's alpha value for each item in NPFLS.
RESULTS: No significant difference between NPFLS and NBQ was observed using Mann-Whitney U Test, with P value greater than 0.05 (P= 0.557). Besides that, NPFLS had a high concurrent validity (r= 0.916) and good internal consistency with high Cronbach's alpha value of (r= 0.948), which demonstrated strong correlation between the items of NPFLS and NBQ.
CONCLUSION: NPFLS demonstrated good reliability, high concurrent validity and criterion validity in this study. NPFLS can be used to assess neck pain and disability among patients with neck pain.
OBJECTIVE: The aim was to understand the local prevalence and factors associated with returning to work in Malaysia after a cardiac event.
METHODS: A cross sectional design was used. All patients attending the cardiac rehabilitation program after major cardiac event during an 11-months period (2011-2012) were included. Data relating to socio-demographic, work-related, risk factors and acute myocardial infarction were collected. The SF-36 questionnaire was used to assess quality of life. Regression analysis was used to determine the predicting factors to return to work.
RESULTS: A total of 398 files were screened, 112 respondents agreed to participate giving a response rate of 47.3%. The prevalence of returned to work (RTW) was 66.1% [95% CI: 57.2-75.0]. Factors associated with work resumption were age (Adj. OR: 0.92 (95% CI: 0.84-0.99), diabetes mellitus (Adj. OR: 3.70, 95% CI: 1.35-10.12), Mental Component Summary (MCS) score (Adj. OR: 1.05 (95% CI: 1.01-1.09) and baseline angiography findings. Patients with single vessel and two vessel disease were 8.9 times and 3.78 times more likely to return to work compared to those with 3 vessels (Adj. OR: 8.90 (95% CI: 2.29-34.64) and Adj. OR: 3.78, (95% CI: 1.12, 12.74).
CONCLUSIONS: We proposed a cardiac rehabilitation program to emphasize mental health as it may improve successful return to work after cardiac event.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional validation study among 159 T2DM patients attending a public primary care clinic in Selangor. The DMOQ English version underwent adaptation, translation, face validation and field testing to produce the Malay version. Psychometric analysis was performed using Exploratory Factor Analysis, internal consistency and testretest reliability.
RESULTS: The DMOQ domains were conceptually equivalent between English and Malay language. A total of 13 items and two domains were removed during the validation process (three items during the content validation, three items due to poor factor loadings, five items as they loaded onto two domains which were not interpretable, one item as it did not fit conceptually into the factor it loaded onto and one openended question as it did not fit into the retained domains). Therefore, the final DMOQ Malay version consisted of 21- items within five domains. The Cronbach alpha was 0.714 and the intraclass-correlation coefficient was 0.868.
CONCLUSION: The DMOQ Malay version is a valid and reliable tool which is consistent over time. It can be used to examine the perception of T2DM patients towards the risk of their offspring developing diabetes and possibility of intervention in Malay-speaking patients.