Displaying publications 521 - 540 of 558 in total

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  1. Devi BC, Pisani P, Tang TS, Parkin DM
    Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 2004 Mar;13(3):482-6.
    PMID: 15006927
    Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is generally a rare malignancy with a few well-known exceptions, notably South-East China. In this article, we describe evidence of a high risk of NPC in the population of Sarawak State, Malaysia, and particularly in one native ethnic group. Sarawak State is one of the two provinces of Malaysia located on the island of Borneo. The native population (71.6%) includes the Iban, Malay, Bidayuh, Melanau, and diverse smaller ethnic groups. The Chinese are the largest nonindigenous group (27.5%). We identified 392 newly diagnosed cases (292 males and 100 females) of NPC in 1996-1998 in Malaysian citizens, permanent residents of Sarawak. Age-standardized rates by sex and ethnic group were compared with the highest rates in the world. The age-adjusted rate (ASR) in Sarawak residents was 13.5/100,000 [95% confidence interval (CI) 12.2-15.0] and 6.2/100,000 (95% CI 5.7-6.7) in males and females, respectively. The risk in the Bidayuh people was 2.3-fold (M) and 1.9-fold (F) higher than the Sarawak average, and about 50% higher than that in Hong Kong-the highest recorded by any population-based registry for the same period. Local dietary habits, environmental exposures, and genetic susceptibility deserve investigation in this population.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  2. Romli MH, Tan MP, Mackenzie L, Lovarini M, Suttanon P, Clemson L
    Public Health, 2017 Apr;145:96-112.
    PMID: 28359399 DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2016.12.035
    OBJECTIVES: The older population in the Southeast Asian region is accelerating and is expected to surpass the proportion of the ageing population in North America and Europe in the future. This study aims to identify the research literature related to falls among older people in Southeast Asia, to examine current practice and discuss the future direction on falls prevention and interventions in the region.

    STUDY DESIGN: A scoping review design was used.

    METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted using the Medline, CINAHL, AMED, Ageline, PsycINFO, Web of Sciences, Scopus, Thai-Journal Citation Index, MyCite and trial registries databases.

    RESULTS: Thirty-seven studies and six study protocols were included, from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. One-sixth of the studies involved interventions, while the remainder were observational studies. The observational studies mainly determined the falls risk factors. The intervention studies comprised multifactorial interventions and single interventions such as exercises, educational materials and visual correction. Many of the studies replicated international studies and may not have taken into account features unique to Southeast Asia.

    CONCLUSION: Our review has revealed studies evaluating falls and management of falls in the Southeast Asian context. More research is required from all Southeast Asian countries to prepare for the future challenges of managing falls as the population ages.

    Matched MeSH terms: Environment Design
  3. West KM, Kalbfleisch JM
    Diabetes, 1970 Sep;19(9):656-63.
    PMID: 5469119 DOI: 10.2337/diab.19.9.656
    The prevalence of diabetes in Central America was somewhat greater than in East Pakistan and Malaya, less
    than in Uruguay and Venezuela, and substantially less than in affluent societies such as the United States. Differences in prevalence among Central American countries were modest but probably significant in some instances. In all Central American countries diabetes was more common in females but this difference was probably attributable to the greater adiposity of the women. Age-matched populations from eleven different countries of three continents have now been tested using standardized methods. Prevalence of diabetes varied greatly, and differences were more related to environment than to race. These results support the hypothesis that environmental factors can increase or reduce prevalence by several-fold.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment; Environmental Exposure
  4. Khalid HM, Helander MG, Hood NA
    Appl Ergon, 2013 Sep;44(5):671-9.
    PMID: 22944486 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2012.06.005
    The purpose of this study was to analyze people's attitudes to disasters by investigating how people feel, behave and think during disasters. We focused on disasters induced by humans, such as terrorist attacks. Two types of textual information were collected - from Internet blogs and from research papers. The analysis enabled forecasting of attitudes for the design of proactive disaster advisory scheme. Text was analyzed using a text mining tool, Leximancer. The outcome of this analysis revealed core themes and concepts in the text concerning people's attitudes. The themes and concepts were sorted into three broad categories: Affect, Behaviour, and Cognition (ABC), and the data was visualized in semantic maps. The maps reveal several knowledge pathways of ABC for developing attitudinal ontologies, which describe the relations between affect, behaviour and cognition, and the sequence in which they develop. Clearly, terrorist attacks induced trauma and people became highly vulnerable.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  5. Rostami R, Lamit H, Khoshnava SM, Rostami R
    Ecohealth, 2014 Sep;11(3):308-21.
    PMID: 24859923 DOI: 10.1007/s10393-014-0939-6
    The inherent economic and social challenges in major cities have been known to foster stress among the urban population. Frequent stress over long periods may well have serious damaging outcomes, resulting in ailments such as burnout syndrome, sleeplessness and exhaustion, depression, feelings of panic, among others. Therefore, providing access to resources that may enable people to cope with the stress of urban life has become a crucial phenomenon in the twentieth century. Increasing empirical evidence indicates that the presence of natural areas can contribute to enhancing the quality of life in many ways. This study examines two historical Persian gardens from the residents' perspective in well-known, historic cities of Iran: Isfahan and Kerman. The data were collected through questionnaires (n = 252), semi-structured interviews (n = 20), and visual observation techniques. The findings demonstrate that nature, diversity and the gardens' historical background, and coherence motivate the residents' frequent visits to the gardens, which help to address their social, psychological, and physical needs. In addition, the residents' involvements and the variety of experiences that occur in the gardens lead to the creation of deeper meanings and values associated with the gardens. Subsequently, these construct functional and emotional attachment that evokes a sense of place and identity and may contribute to society's health and well-being.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  6. Nesaretnam K, Sies H
    Antioxid Redox Signal, 2006 10 13;8(11-12):2175-7.
    PMID: 17034360
    The 6(th) COSTAM/SFRR (ASEAN/Malaysia) workshop, "Micronutrients, Oxidative Stress, and the Environment," was held from June 29 to July 2 at Holiday Inn Damai Beach Resort in Kuching, Sarawak. Two hundred twenty participants from 17 countries presented recent advances on natural antioxidants in the area of oxidative stress and molecular aspects of nutrition. Natural products and research are an important program in academic institutions and are experiencing unprecedented interest and growth by the scientific community and public health authorities. Progress is being driven by better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the relation between oxidative stress and micronutrient action. The gathering of scientists from around the world was fruitful, and we hope that future work will be developed by the formal and informal interactions that took place in this beautiful tropical setting.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  7. Jaafar NI, Darmawan B, Mohamed Ariffin MY
    Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw, 2014 Nov;17(11):702-8.
    PMID: 25405782 DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2014.0098
    This study employed the Model of Technology Preference (MTP) to explain the relationship of the variables as the antecedents of behavioral intention to adopt a social networking site (SNS) for communication. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to SNS account users using paper-based and web-based surveys that led to 514 valid responses. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that two out of three attributes of the attribute-based preference (ATRP) affect attitude-based preference (ATTP). The data support the hypotheses that perceived enjoyment and social presence are predictors of ATTP. In this study, the findings further indicated that ATTP has no relationship with the behavioral intention of using SNS, but it has a relationship with the attitude of using SNS. SNS development should provide features that ensure enjoyment and social presence for users to communicate instead of using the traditional face-to-face method of communication.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  8. Babar MG, Hasan SS, Ooi YJ, Ahmed SI, Wong PS, Ahmad SF, et al.
    Int J Med Educ, 2015;6:56-61.
    PMID: 25935506 DOI: 10.5116/ijme.5521.3b2d
    The study objectives were to identify the stress levels and to explore the impact of students' year of study and gender on the perceived sources of stress among Malaysian dental students.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  9. Eshkoor SA, Hamid TA, Nudin SS, Mun CY
    Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen, 2013 Jun;28(4):403-7.
    PMID: 23698600 DOI: 10.1177/1533317513488921
    OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the effects of sleep quality, physical activity, environmental quality, age, ethnicity, sex differences, marital status, and educational level on the risk of falls in the elderly individuals with dementia.

    METHODOLOGY: Data were derived from a group of 1210 Malaysian elderly individuals who were noninstitutionalized and demented. The multiple logistic regression model was applied to estimate the risk of falls in respondents.

    RESULTS: Approximately the prevalence of falls was 17% among the individuals. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.03), ethnicity (OR = 1.76), sleep quality (OR = 1.46), and environmental quality (OR = 0.62) significantly affected the risk of falls in individuals (P < .05). Furthermore, sex differences, marital status, educational level, and physical activity were not significant predictors of falls in samples (P > .05).

    CONCLUSION: It was found that age, ethnic non-Malay, and sleep disruption increased the risk of falls in respondents, but high environmental quality reduced the risk of falls.

    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  10. Patchanee P, Boonkhot P, Kittiwan N, Tadee P, Chotinun S
    PMID: 26867391
    Food-borne illness caused by Salmonella enterica remains a public health problem and results in economic loss worldwide. With the up-coming establish- ment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) allowing unrestricted move- ment of labor and goods, there is a higher risk of pathogen transmission among the AEC countries. This study characterized and investigated the spatial and temporal associations of S. enterica strains isolated in AEC countries during 1940- 2012 compared with those isolated in northern-Thailand during 2011-2013. Of the 173 S. enterica strains examined, 68 sequence types (STs) and 32 clonal complexes (CCs) were identified by multi loci sequence typing. Twenty-one strains belonged to four sequence types new to AEC countries, and they constituted only two CCs. A number of strains originated from various countries with multiple hosts, were highlighted. There was evidence of strains circulating in the AEC region well over a decade. Such information will be important in formulating biosecurity measures, as well as in educating regarding the risk of disease transmission in AEC.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  11. Subramaniam A, Silong AD, Uli J, Ismail IA
    BMC Med Educ, 2015;15:129.
    PMID: 26268222 DOI: 10.1186/s12909-015-0407-1
    Effective talent development requires robust supervision. However, the effects of supervisory styles (coaching, mentoring and abusive supervision) on talent development and the moderating effects of clinical learning environment in the relationship between supervisory styles and talent development among public hospital trainee doctors have not been thoroughly researched. In this study, we aim to achieve the following, (1) identify the extent to which supervisory styles (coaching, mentoring and abusive supervision) can facilitate talent development among trainee doctors in public hospital and (2) examine whether coaching, mentoring and abusive supervision are moderated by clinical learning environment in predicting talent development among trainee doctors in public hospital.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  12. Ambalavanan A, Chang L, Choi J, Zhang Y, Stickley SA, Fang ZY, et al.
    Nat Commun, 2024 Sep 04;15(1):7735.
    PMID: 39232002 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51743-6
    Breastfeeding provides many health benefits, but its impact on respiratory health remains unclear. This study addresses the complex and dynamic nature of the mother-milk-infant triad by investigating maternal genomic factors regulating human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), and their associations with respiratory health among human milk-fed infants. Nineteen HMOs are quantified from 980 mothers of the CHILD Cohort Study. Genome-wide association studies identify HMO-associated loci on chromosome 19p13.3 and 19q13.33 (lowest P = 2.4e-118), spanning several fucosyltransferase (FUT) genes. We identify novel associations on chromosome 3q27.3 for 6'-sialyllactose (P = 2.2e-9) in the sialyltransferase (ST6GAL1) gene. These, plus additional associations on chromosomes 7q21.32, 7q31.32 and 13q33.3, are replicated in the independent INSPIRE Cohort. Moreover, gene-environment interaction analyses suggest that fucosylated HMOs may modulate overall risk of recurrent wheeze among preschoolers with variable genetic risk scores (P 
    Matched MeSH terms: Gene-Environment Interaction
  13. Chan JC, Lee CT, Say YH, Lin YF, Tsai MC
    J Psychiatr Res, 2025 Feb;182:277-283.
    PMID: 39826378 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.01.017
    BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood events (ACEs) have been associated with an increased risk of psychiatric disorders in young adulthood. To identify at-risk individuals and potential strategies to combat the negative impacts of ACE, this study investigated the mediating role of exercise in the relationship between psychological distress and ACEs. Further, we examined the moderating effect of the BDNF polymorphism in the mediation relationship.

    METHODS: Participants (N = 750, Mage = 20.1 years) completed questionnaires assessing ACEs divided into adverse environment (AE) and childhood maltreatment (CM), exercise, and psychological distress. Salivary genomic DNA was used for genotyping. The significance of the moderated mediation model was assessed using bootstrapping.

    RESULTS: There was a significant association between ACEs and psychological distress mediated by exercise. After addition of BDNF polymorphism, we found that the effect of ACEs on psychological distress through exercise was moderated by the BDNF polymorphism (index of moderated mediation = -0.19, [-0.48, -0.04], p-value ≤0.05). Further dividing ACE into AE and CM, the moderated mediation relationship remains significant only with AE (index of moderated mediation = -0.41, [-0.99, -0.10], p-value ≤0.05).

    CONCLUSIONS: The interaction between BDNF polymorphism and exercise may be a suitable target for interventions in ACEs-experienced individuals for the prevention or reduction of psychological distress.

    Matched MeSH terms: Gene-Environment Interaction
  14. Peyrot WJ, Lee SH, Milaneschi Y, Abdellaoui A, Byrne EM, Esko T, et al.
    Mol Psychiatry, 2015 Jun;20(6):735-43.
    PMID: 25917368 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2015.50
    An association between lower educational attainment (EA) and an increased risk for depression has been confirmed in various western countries. This study examines whether pleiotropic genetic effects contribute to this association. Therefore, data were analyzed from a total of 9662 major depressive disorder (MDD) cases and 14,949 controls (with no lifetime MDD diagnosis) from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium with additional Dutch and Estonian data. The association of EA and MDD was assessed with logistic regression in 15,138 individuals indicating a significantly negative association in our sample with an odds ratio for MDD 0.78 (0.75-0.82) per standard deviation increase in EA. With data of 884,105 autosomal common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), three methods were applied to test for pleiotropy between MDD and EA: (i) genetic profile risk scores (GPRS) derived from training data for EA (independent meta-analysis on ~120,000 subjects) and MDD (using a 10-fold leave-one-out procedure in the current sample), (ii) bivariate genomic-relationship-matrix restricted maximum likelihood (GREML) and (iii) SNP effect concordance analysis (SECA). With these methods, we found (i) that the EA-GPRS did not predict MDD status, and MDD-GPRS did not predict EA, (ii) a weak negative genetic correlation with bivariate GREML analyses, but this correlation was not consistently significant, (iii) no evidence for concordance of MDD and EA SNP effects with SECA analysis. To conclude, our study confirms an association of lower EA and MDD risk, but this association was not because of measurable pleiotropic genetic effects, which suggests that environmental factors could be involved, for example, socioeconomic status.
    Matched MeSH terms: Gene-Environment Interaction
  15. Yusof M, Sahroni MN
    Int J Health Care Qual Assur, 2018 Oct 08;31(8):1014-1029.
    PMID: 30415623 DOI: 10.1108/IJHCQA-07-2017-0125
    PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to present a review of health information system (HIS)-induced errors and its management. This paper concludes that the occurrence of errors is inevitable but it can be minimised with preventive measures. The review of classifications can be used to evaluate medical errors related to HISs using a socio-technical approach. The evaluation could provide an understanding of errors as a learning process in managing medical errors.

    DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A literature review was performed on issues, sources, management and approaches to HISs-induced errors. A critical review of selected models was performed in order to identify medical error dimensions and elements based on human, process, technology and organisation factors.

    FINDINGS: Various error classifications have resulted in the difficulty to understand the overall error incidents. Most classifications are based on clinical processes and settings. Medical errors are attributed to human, process, technology and organisation factors that influenced and need to be aligned with each other. Although most medical errors are caused by humans, they also originate from other latent factors such as poor system design and training. Existing evaluation models emphasise different aspects of medical errors and could be combined into a comprehensive evaluation model.

    RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Overview of the issues and discourses in HIS-induced errors could divulge its complexity and enable its causal analysis.

    PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This paper helps in understanding various types of HIS-induced errors and promising prevention and management approaches that call for further studies and improvement leading to good practices that help prevent medical errors.

    ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Classification of HIS-induced errors and its management, which incorporates a socio-technical and multi-disciplinary approach, could guide researchers and practitioners to conduct a holistic and systematic evaluation.

    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  16. Joekes S
    Focus Gend, 1994 Jun;2(2):13-8.
    PMID: 12345527
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  17. Chow CK, Corsi DJ, Gilmore AB, Kruger A, Igumbor E, Chifamba J, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2017 03 31;7(3):e013817.
    PMID: 28363924 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013817
    OBJECTIVES: This study examines in a cross-sectional study 'the tobacco control environment' including tobacco policy implementation and its association with quit ratio.

    SETTING: 545 communities from 17 high-income, upper-middle, low-middle and low-income countries (HIC, UMIC, LMIC, LIC) involved in the Environmental Profile of a Community's Health (EPOCH) study from 2009 to 2014.

    PARTICIPANTS: Community audits and surveys of adults (35-70 years, n=12 953).

    PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Summary scores of tobacco policy implementation (cost and availability of cigarettes, tobacco advertising, antismoking signage), social unacceptability and knowledge were associated with quit ratios (former vs ever smokers) using multilevel logistic regression models.

    RESULTS: Average tobacco control policy score was greater in communities from HIC. Overall 56.1% (306/545) of communities had >2 outlets selling cigarettes and in 28.6% (154/539) there was access to cheap cigarettes (<5cents/cigarette) (3.2% (3/93) in HIC, 0% UMIC, 52.6% (90/171) LMIC and 40.4% (61/151) in LIC). Effective bans (no tobacco advertisements) were in 63.0% (341/541) of communities (81.7% HIC, 52.8% UMIC, 65.1% LMIC and 57.6% LIC). In 70.4% (379/538) of communities, >80% of participants disapproved youth smoking (95.7% HIC, 57.6% UMIC, 76.3% LMIC and 58.9% LIC). The average knowledge score was >80% in 48.4% of communities (94.6% HIC, 53.6% UMIC, 31.8% LMIC and 35.1% LIC). Summary scores of policy implementation, social unacceptability and knowledge were positively and significantly associated with quit ratio and the associations varied by gender, for example, communities in the highest quintile of the combined scores had 5.0 times the quit ratio in men (Odds ratio (OR) 5·0, 95% CI 3.4 to 7.4) and 4.1 times the quit ratio in women (OR 4.1, 95% CI 2.4 to 7.1).

    CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that more focus is needed on ensuring the tobacco control policy is actually implemented, particularly in LMICs. The gender-related differences in associations of policy, social unacceptability and knowledge suggest that different strategies to promoting quitting may need to be implemented in men compared to women.

    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  18. Sahimin N, Lim YA, Ariffin F, Behnke JM, Lewis JW, Mohd Zain SN
    PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2016 Nov;10(11):e0005110.
    PMID: 27806046 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005110
    A cross-sectional study of intestinal parasitic infections amongst migrant workers in Malaysia was conducted. A total of 388 workers were recruited from five sectors including manufacturing, construction, plantation, domestic and food services. The majority were recruited from Indonesia (n = 167, 43.3%), followed by Nepal (n = 81, 20.9%), Bangladesh (n = 70, 18%), India (n = 47, 12.1%) and Myanmar (n = 23, 5.9.2%). A total of four nematode species (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Enterobius vermicularis and hookworms), one cestode (Hymenolepis nana) and three protozoan species (Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Giardia sp. and Cryptosporidium spp.) were identified. High prevalence of infections with A. lumbricoides (43.3%) was recorded followed by hookworms (13.1%), E. histolytica/dispar (11.6%), Giardia sp. (10.8%), T. trichura (9.5%), Cryptosporodium spp. (3.1%), H. nana (1.8%) and E. vermicularis (0.5%). Infections were significantly influenced by socio-demographic (nationality), and environmental characteristics (length of working years in the country, employment sector and educational level). Up to 84.0% of migrant workers from Nepal and 83.0% from India were infected with intestinal parasites, with the ascarid nematode A. lumbricoides occurring in 72.8% of the Nepalese and 68.1% of the Indian population. In addition, workers with an employment history of less than a year or newly arrived in Malaysia were most likely to show high levels of infection as prevalence of workers infected with A. lumbricoides was reduced from 58.2% to 35.4% following a year's residence. These findings suggest that improvement is warranted in public health and should include mandatory medical screening upon entry into the country.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  19. Tan PS, Genc F, Delgado E, Kellum JA, Pinsky MR
    Intensive Care Med, 2002 Aug;28(8):1064-72.
    PMID: 12185426
    We tested the hypothesis that NO contamination of hospital compressed air also improves PaO(2) in patients with acute lung injury (ALI) and following lung transplant (LTx).
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment, Controlled
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