OBJECTIVE: This study aims to co-design and assess the feasibility of a socially-driven digital health intervention to promote healthy behavior and prevent chronic diseases in a workplace in Malaysia.
METHODS: This study involves two phases: (i) identifying the barriers and facilitators to healthy behaviors at work and co-designing the intervention activities with the employees, (ii) implementing and evaluating the intervention's feasibility. Phase 1 will involve qualitative data collection and analysis through semi-structured, in-depth interviews and co-design workshops with the employees, while Phase 2 will consist of a feasibility study employing quantitative measurements of health behaviors through accelerometers and questionnaires.
RESULTS: This study was funded in June 2021 and ethics approval for Phase 1 was obtained from the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee in January 2022. As of August 2022, qualitative interviews with 12 employees have been completed and the data has been transcribed and analyzed. These results will be published in a future paper with results from all Phase 1 activities.
CONCLUSIONS: The study will help us to better understand the mechanisms through which digital technologies can promote socially-driven health knowledge and behaviors. This research will also result in a scalable wellness intervention that could be further tailored and expanded to other employers and social groups across the region.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/39238.
METHODS: We report on a series of 31 patients who underwent dry MT with artificial pneumothorax induction using Veress needle under thoracic ultrasonography (TUS) guidance. A procedure was considered technically successful if it met all the following criteria: successful pneumothorax induction, allowing smooth insertion of the semi-rigid thoracoscope; absence of immediate significant procedural-related complications; and no delayed complications such as persistent air leaks, defined as leakage lasting more than 5 days necessitating extended chest tube placement.
RESULTS: Complete pneumothorax induction was achieved in 25 cases, resulting in an 80.6% technical success rate; however, biopsies were successfully performed in all cases. The most frequent histopathological diagnoses were malignancy (n=9, 29.0%), followed by inflammatory pleuritis (n=8, 25.8%) and tuberculosis (n=8, 25.8%). No procedural complications were reported.
CONCLUSION: These results indicate that TUS-guided dry MT utilizing a Veress needle is technically feasible and secure when performed by experienced MT practitioners in TUS.
METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed. Case records of consecutive patients with culture-positive melioidosis who underwent computed tomography (CT) thorax from January 1, 2018-February 28, 2022, were reviewed.
RESULTS: 486 culture-positive melioidosis patients were identified, of which 70 underwent CT thorax. 41 patients demonstrating mediastinal involvement were included in the final analysis, of which four were mediastinal collections, while the rest were classified into those with necrotic or matted appearances, and subcentimeter and larger than 1 cm. Culture-positivity was proven from blood in 83 % of patients (n = 34), with the remaining from chest wall pus, neck abscess pus, sputum, liver abscess, seminal vesicle, pleural, pericardial and peritoneal fluid. The most commonly associated pulmonary manifestations were consolidation and pleural effusion. Half had diabetes; a quarter had chronic kidney disease, while one had syphilis. Exposure to soil was present in six patients: quarry (n = 1), construction (n = 2), farmer (n = 1), living environment (n = 2). Seven patients succumbed before the end of 6-week intensive phase antibiotic treatment.
CONCLUSION: Mediastinal melioidosis is a spectrum with multiple overlapping features consisting of necrosis, matted lymph nodes, multiseptated and non-septated collections. Further studies will elucidate the prognostic implications of mediastinal melioidosis.
CASE PRESENTATION: An army officer who returned from Malaysia in October 2016 was found to be positive for Plasmodium both by microscopy and rapid diagnostic test (RDT) by the Anti Malaria Campaign Sri Lanka (AMC) during his third visit to a health care provider. Microscopy findings were suspicious of P. knowlesi infection as the smears showed parasite stages similar to both Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium falciparum. Nested PCR at AMC confirmed Plasmodium genus, but not the species. In the absence of species confirmation, the patient was treated as a case of P. falciparum. The presence of P. knowlesi was later confirmed by a semi-nested PCR assay performed at the Environmental Health Institute, National Environmental Agency in Singapore. The parasite strain was also characterized by sequencing the circumsporozoite gene. Extensive case investigation including parasitological and entomological surveillance was carried out.
CONCLUSIONS: Plasmodium knowlesi should be suspected in patients returning from countries in the South Asian region where the parasite is prevalent and when blood smear results are inconclusive.
METHODS: A prospective, cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in current smokers or ex-smokers aged between 55 and 80 years at three hospitals in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. The questionnaire recorded the following parameters: perceived lung cancer risk; Prostate Lung Colon Ovarian Cancer 2012 risk prediction model excluding race and ethnicity predictor (PLCOm2012norace); demographic characteristics; psychosocial characteristics; and attitudes towards lung cancer and lung cancer screening.
RESULTS: A vast majority of the 95 respondents (94.7%) indicated their willingness to undergo screening. Stigma of lung cancer, low levels of knowledge about lung cancer symptoms, concerns about financial constraints, and a preference for traditional medication were still prevalent among the respondents, and they may represent potential barriers to lung cancer screening uptake. A desire to have an early diagnosis (odds ratio [OR], 11.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.53 to 84.05; p=0.02), perceived time constraints (OR, 3.94; 95% CI, 1.32 to 11.73; p=0.01), and proximity of LDCT screening facilities (OR, 14.33; 95% CI, 1.84 to 111.4; p=0.01) had significantly higher odds of willingness to undergo screening.
CONCLUSION: Although high-risk current smokers and ex-smokers are likely to undergo screening for lung cancer, several psychosocial barriers persist. The results of this study may guide the policymakers and clinicians regarding the need to improve lung cancer awareness in our population.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the global, regional, and national prevalence and disability burden of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa-and mortality attributable to anorexia nervosa-from 1990 to 2023, and to forecast prevalence to 2050.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Using Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 methods, data were synthesized from systematic literature reviews, population surveys, and vital registration systems. Estimates were produced for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2023, with forecasts through 2050. These data were analyzed from October 2025 to August 2026.
EXPOSURE: Anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa diagnosis.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Counts and age-standardized rates with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and anorexia nervosa mortality, reported by age, sex, and location.
RESULTS: In 2023, an estimated 18.1 million people (95% UI, 13.9-24.0) globally were living with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, of whom 12.6 million (69.4%) were female, 5.5 million were male (30.6%), and 41.2% were aged 10 to 24 years. These cases accounted for 3.83 million DALYs (95% UI, 2.23-5.69). Since 1990, the global number of prevalent cases increased by 71.0%, while age-standardized prevalence and DALY rates rose by about 21%. Females experienced substantially higher prevalence and DALY rates than males. The highest age-standardized prevalence rates were observed in high-income regions, particularly Australasia and Western Europe, whereas the largest relative increases in age-standardized prevalence occurred in East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Forecasts indicate continued increases in prevalent cases through 2050.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This GBD 2023 analysis found that anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa contribute substantially to global nonfatal health loss. These findings support the integration of eating disorders into mental health surveillance, prevention, and service planning worldwide.