DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Socio-demographics, body height, pre-pandemic body weight, and post-lockdown body weight were self-reported by the young adults. The eating behaviour was assessed using the validated Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-Revised 18-item (TFEQ-R18). The mean difference in eating behaviour subscales was analysed using MANCOVA with a Bonferroni-adjusted post-hoc test.

FINDINGS: One-third of the young adults put on body weight due to the lockdowns, with an average relative weight gain of 12.44 ± 9.67%. Conversely, about one-fifth of the young adults reported having lighter body weight in the post-lockdown pandemic phase, with an average relative weight loss of 10.10 ± 4.66%. Young adults in the weight loss category had a significantly higher standardised raw score in cognitive restraints than those in the sustained weight and weight gain categories. In addition, young adults in the weight gain category had statistically higher standardised raw scores in uncontrolled eating and emotional eating compared to those in the sustained weight category. Weight trajectory during the COVID-19 pandemic is linked to disordered eating behaviour among young adults in Malaysia.

METHODS: The food security status and the risk of eating disorders were assessed using the validated Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) and Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26), respectively.

RESULTS: Among the 208 young urbanists, approximately one-third (30.8%) were moderate-to-severe food insecure and about one-fifth (18.8%) were at risk of eating disorders after the nationwide lockdown. With the adjustment of gender, the binary logistic regression analysis revealed that moderate-to-severe food insecure individuals were 2.279 times (P = 0.030, 95% CI = 1.084-4.791) more likely to engage in disordered eating in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of partial correlation further indicated that moderate-to-severe food insecurity was positively correlated (rpartial = 0.156, P = 0.024) with bulimia and food preoccupation after the outbreak.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online, anonymous, voluntary survey was conducted to assess the level of knowledge and understanding about EAPs among Malaysian oncologists using SurveyMonkey® between April 2020 and June 2020. Oncologists who had enquired about EAP in the past, were invited at random to participate in the survey. Participants who did not provide consent or failed to complete the survey were excluded.

RESULTS: A total of 15 oncologists participated in the survey, from both public (46.6%) and private (46.6%) practices. Most respondents (80%) had filed between 1 to 10 EAP applications in the past 12 months. For 73.3% respondents, resources or training were not provided for EAPs from institutions. Around 53% of the respondents reported that their knowledge of EAPs and application processes including country regulations is 'good'. The majority of respondents (73.3%) reported that the educational modules on an overview of EAPs, country regulations and the EAP application process will be beneficial. Most participants received information about the existing EAPs either by reaching out to a pharmaceutical sponsor or through another health care provider and some received information about the existing EAPs through their institutions or patients/caregivers. Most of the respondents recommended that pharmaceutical companies should have readily available information related to the availability and application of EAPs for all pipeline products on their websites.

DISCUSSION: EAPs are crucial treatment access pathways to provide investigational drugs to patients who have exhausted their treatment options and are not eligible for participation in clinical trials. Malaysian oncologists have a fair understanding about the EAPs and the application processes.

METHODS: A matched case-control study involving young adults aged 18-30 years was conducted in the Klang Valley of Malaysia. The young adults were matched in a 1:1 ratio based on their sociodemographic characteristics, including gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, educational attainment, employment status, and monthly earned income. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was utilized to evaluate sleep quality, and the Diet Quality for Malaysia was used to determine the diet quality of all young adults. The young adults retrospectively recalled their prepandemic body weight in February 2020, while their current body weight in February 2023 was measured using a TANITA HD-314 digital weighing scale.

RESULTS: Emerging findings suggest that sleep quality and weight change were comparable between COVID-19-recovered patients and healthy controls. However, healthy controls were reported to have a more diversified diet than COVID-19-recovered patients. Nevertheless, no significant main effects or interaction effects of sleep and diet quality on weight change were observed in COVID-19-recovered patients or healthy controls. In this study, young adults also reported suffering from sleep deprivation and deficiency due to the pandemic.

METHODS: Cross-sectional data from a multicenter cohort of 419 HF outpatients were used. Both direct and indirect mapping approaches were attempted using 5 sets of explanatory variables and 8 models (ordinary least squares, Tobit, censored least absolute deviations, generalized linear model, 2-part model [TPM], beta regression-based model, adjusted limited dependent variable mixture model, and multinomial ordinal regression [MLOGIT]). The models' predictive performance was assessed through 10-fold cross-validated mean absolute error [MAE] and root mean squared error [RMSE]). Potential prediction bias was also examined graphically. The best-performing models, with the lowest RMSE and no bias, were then identified.

RESULTS: Among the models evaluated, TPM, which included age, sex, and 5 AQoL-6D dimension scores as predictors, appears to be the best-performing model for directly predicting EQ-5D-5L HSUVs from AQoL-6D. TPM yielded the lowest MAE (0.0802) and RMSE (0.1116), and demonstrated predictive accuracy for HSUVs >0.2 without significant bias. A MLOGIT model developed for response mapping had suboptimal predictive accuracy.

METHODS: Pubmed, Cochrane Central, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and WoS were searched from inception to April 2023. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated effects of mHealth apps on primary outcomes OAM adherence and symptom burden were included. Two reviewers independently assessed risk-of-bias using Cochrane Risk-of-Bias version 2 and extracted the data. Quality of evidence was assessed using GRADE. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023406024).

RESULTS: Four RCTs involving 806 patients with cancer met the eligibility criteria. mHealth apps features included a combinations of symptom reporting, medication reminder, automated alert to care team, OAM and side effect information, one study implemented structured follow-up by a nurse. The intervention group showed no significant difference in OAM adherence (relative ratio 1.20; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.43), but significantly improved symptoms to OAMs with a lower standardised mean symptom burden score of 0.49 (SMD - 0.49; 95% CI - 0.93 to - 0.06), and a 25% lower risk of grade 3 or 4 toxicity (risk ratio 0.75; 95% CI 0.58 to 0.95) compared to usual care.