Displaying publications 61 - 80 of 101 in total

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  1. Reidpath DD, Masood M, Allotey P
    Int J Public Health, 2014 Jun;59(3):503-7.
    PMID: 24045784 DOI: 10.1007/s00038-013-0510-1
    OBJECTIVES: Four metrics to characterise population overweight are described.

    METHODS: Behavioural Risk Factors Surveillance System data were used to estimate the weight the US population needed to lose to achieve a BMI 

  2. Partap U, Young EH, Allotey P, Soyiri IN, Jahan N, Komahan K, et al.
    Int J Epidemiol, 2017 Oct 01;46(5):1370-1371g.
    PMID: 29024948 DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyx113
  3. Allotey P, Allotey-Reidpath C, Reidpath DD
    PLoS One, 2017;12(5):e0177386.
    PMID: 28493948 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177386
    BACKGROUND: Gender bias in medical journals can affect the science and the benefit to patients. It has never been investigated in clinical case reports. The oversight is important because of the role clinical case reports play in hypothesis generation and medical education. We investigated contemporary gender bias in case reports for the highest ranked journals in general and internal medicine.

    METHODS: PubMed case reports data from 2011 to 2016 were extracted for the Annals of Internal Medicine, British Medical Journal, the Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet, and New England Journal of Medicine. The gender of the patients were identified and a text analysis of the Medical Subject Headings conducted.

    RESULTS: A total of 2,742 case reports were downloaded and 2,582 (95.6%) reports contributed to the final analysis. A pooled analysis showed a statistically significant gender bias against female case reports (0.45; 95%CI: 0.43-0.47). The Annals of Internal Medicine was the only journal with a point estimate (non significant) in the direction of a bias against male patients. The text analysis identified no substantive difference in the focus of the case reports and no obvious explanation for the bias.

    CONCLUSION: Gender bias, previously identified in clinical research and in clinical authorship, extends into the patients presented in clinical case reports. Whether it is driven by authors or editors is not clear, but it likely contributes to and supports an overall male bias of clinical medicine.

  4. Soyiri IN, Reidpath DD, Sarran C
    Int J Biometeorol, 2013 Jul;57(4):569-78.
    PMID: 22886344 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-012-0584-0
    Asthma is a chronic condition of great public health concern globally. The associated morbidity, mortality and healthcare utilisation place an enormous burden on healthcare infrastructure and services. This study demonstrates a multistage quantile regression approach to predicting excess demand for health care services in the form of asthma daily admissions in London, using retrospective data from the Hospital Episode Statistics, weather and air quality. Trivariate quantile regression models (QRM) of asthma daily admissions were fitted to a 14-day range of lags of environmental factors, accounting for seasonality in a hold-in sample of the data. Representative lags were pooled to form multivariate predictive models, selected through a systematic backward stepwise reduction approach. Models were cross-validated using a hold-out sample of the data, and their respective root mean square error measures, sensitivity, specificity and predictive values compared. Two of the predictive models were able to detect extreme number of daily asthma admissions at sensitivity levels of 76 % and 62 %, as well as specificities of 66 % and 76 %. Their positive predictive values were slightly higher for the hold-out sample (29 % and 28 %) than for the hold-in model development sample (16 % and 18 %). QRMs can be used in multistage to select suitable variables to forecast extreme asthma events. The associations between asthma and environmental factors, including temperature, ozone and carbon monoxide can be exploited in predicting future events using QRMs.
  5. Soyiri IN, Reidpath DD, Sarran C
    Chron Respir Dis, 2013 May;10(2):85-94.
    PMID: 23620439 DOI: 10.1177/1479972313482847
    Health forecasting can improve health service provision and individual patient outcomes. Environmental factors are known to impact chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma, but little is known about the extent to which these factors can be used for forecasting. Using weather, air quality and hospital asthma admissions, in London (2005-2006), two related negative binomial models were developed and compared with a naive seasonal model. In the first approach, predictive forecasting models were fitted with 7-day averages of each potential predictor, and then a subsequent multivariable model is constructed. In the second strategy, an exhaustive search of the best fitting models between possible combinations of lags (0-14 days) of all the environmental effects on asthma admission was conducted. Three models were considered: a base model (seasonal effects), contrasted with a 7-day average model and a selected lags model (weather and air quality effects). Season is the best predictor of asthma admissions. The 7-day average and seasonal models were trivial to implement. The selected lags model was computationally intensive, but of no real value over much more easily implemented models. Seasonal factors can predict daily hospital asthma admissions in London, and there is a little evidence that additional weather and air quality information would add to forecast accuracy.
  6. McGrattan A, Mohan D, Chua PW, Mat Hussin A, Soh YC, Alawad M, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2020 08 27;10(8):e035453.
    PMID: 32859661 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035453
    INTRODUCTION: Global population ageing is one of the key factors linked to the projected rise of dementia incidence. Hence, there is a clear need to identify strategies to overcome this expected health burden and have a meaningful impact on populations' health worldwide. Current evidence supports the role of modifiable dietary and lifestyle risk factors in reducing the risk of dementia. In South-East Asia, changes in eating and lifestyle patterns under the influence of westernised habits have resulted in significant increases in the prevalence of metabolic, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Low vegetable consumption and high sodium intake have been identified as key contributors to the increased prevalence of NCDs in these countries. Therefore, nutritional and lifestyle strategies targeting these dietary risk factors are warranted. The overall objective of this randomised feasibility trial is to demonstrate the acceptability of a dietary intervention to increase the consumption of high-nitrate green leafy vegetables and reduce salt intake over 6 months among Malaysian adults with raised blood pressure.

    METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Primary outcomes focus on feasibility measures of recruitment, retention, implementation and acceptability of the intervention. Secondary outcomes will include blood pressure, cognitive function, body composition and physical function (including muscle strength and gait speed). Adherence to the dietary intervention will be assessed through collection of biological samples, 24-hour recall and Food Frequency Questionnaire. A subgroup of participants will also complete postintervention focus groups to further explore the feasibility considerations of executing a larger trial, the ability of these individuals to make dietary changes and the barriers and facilitators associated with implementing these changes.

    ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval has been obtained from Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee and Medical Research and Ethics Committee of Malaysia. Results of the study will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national and international conferences.ISRCTN47562685; Pre-results.

  7. Jeganathan R, Karalasingam SD, Hussein J, Allotey P, Reidpath DD
    BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 2017 Apr 08;17(1):110.
    PMID: 28390414 DOI: 10.1186/s12884-017-1293-9
    BACKGROUND: The neonatal Apgar score at 5 min has been found to be a better predictor of outcomes than the Apgar score at 1 min. A baby, however, must pass through the first minute of life to reach the fifth. There has been no research looking at predictors of recovery (Apgar scores ≥7) by 5 min in neonates with 1 min Apgar scores <4.

    METHODS: An analysis of observational data was conducted using live, singleton, term births recorded in the Malaysian National Obstetrics Registry between 2010 and 2012. A total of 272,472 live, singleton, term births without congential anomalies were recorded, of which 1,580 (0.59%) had 1 min Apgar scores <4. Descriptive methods and bi- and multi-variable logistic regression were used to identify risk factors associated with recovery (5 min Apgar score ≥7) from 1 min Apgar scores <4.

    RESULTS: Less than 1% of births have a 1 min Apgar scores <4. Only 29.4% of neonates with 1 min Apgar scores <4 recover to a 5 min Apgar score ≥7. Among uncomplicated vaginal deliveries, after controlling for other factors, deliveries by a doctor of neonates with a 1 min Apgar score <4 had odds of recovery 2.4 times greater than deliveries of neonates with a 1 min Apgar score <4 by a nurse-midwife. Among deliveries of neonates with a 1 min Apgar score <4 by doctors, after controlling for other factors, planned and unplanned CS was associated with better odds of recovery than uncomplicated vaginal deliveries. Recovery was also associated with maternal obesity, and there was some ethnic variation - in the adjusted analysis indigenous (Orang Asal) Malaysians had lower odds of recovery.

    CONCLUSIONS: A 1 min Apgar score <4 is relatively rare, and less than a third recover by five minutes. In those newborns the qualification of the person performing the delivery and the type of delivery are independent predictors of recovery as is maternal BMI and ethnicity. These are associations only, not necessarily causes, and they point to potential areas of research into health systems factors in the labour room, as well as possible biological and cultural factors.

  8. Soyiri IN, Reidpath DD
    Int J Gen Med, 2012;5:381-9.
    PMID: 22615533 DOI: 10.2147/IJGM.S31079
    Health forecasting forewarns the health community about future health situations and disease episodes so that health systems can better allocate resources and manage demand. The tools used for developing and measuring the accuracy and validity of health forecasts commonly are not defined although they are usually adapted forms of statistical procedures. This review identifies previous typologies used in classifying the forecasting methods commonly used in forecasting health conditions or situations. It then discusses the strengths and weaknesses of these methods and presents the choices available for measuring the accuracy of health-forecasting models, including a note on the discrepancies in the modes of validation.
  9. Reidpath DD, Gruskin S, Khosla R, Dakessian A, Allotey P
    Lancet, 2023 Sep 16;402(10406):943-945.
    PMID: 37392750 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01304-1
  10. Yap KH, Mohan D, Stephan BCM, Warren N, Allotey P, Reidpath DD
    J Aging Res, 2019;2019:9151802.
    PMID: 31093373 DOI: 10.1155/2019/9151802
    Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) and social capital were known to be related to self-rated health (SRH). Despite this, no studies have examined the potential interaction of SMC and social capital on SRH. Using data from a cross-sectional health survey of men and women aged 56 years and above (n = 6,421), we examined how SMCs and social capital explained SRH in a population of community-dwelling older adults in a semirural area in Malaysia. We also evaluated whether SRH's relationship with SMCs is moderated by social capital. The association of SMC and social capital with poor SRH was investigated using multivariable logistic regression. Social capital (OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.82-0.89), mild SMC (OR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.50-1.94), and moderate SMC (OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.63-2.20) were found to be associated with poor SRH after adjustment for sociodemographic factors and depression in the initial regression model. SMC was found to have partial interaction effects with social capital which was included in the subsequent regression model. Unlike individuals with no SMC and mild SMC, those who reported moderate SMC did not show decreasing probabilities of poor SRH despite increasing levels of social capital. Nevertheless, this analysis suggests that social capital and SMC are independent predictors of poor SRH. Further research needs to be targeted at improving the understanding on how social capital and SMC moderate and interact with the perception of health in older adults.
  11. Bonsu KO, Reidpath DD, Kadirvelu A
    Cardiovasc Ther, 2015 Dec;33(6):338-46.
    PMID: 26280110 DOI: 10.1111/1755-5922.12150
    Statins are known to prevent heart failure (HF). However, it is unclear whether statins as class or type (lipophilic or hydrophilic) improve outcomes of established HF.
  12. Masood M, Reidpath DD
    PLoS One, 2017;12(6):e0178928.
    PMID: 28662041 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178928
    BACKGROUND: This study explores the relationship between BMI and national-wealth and the cross-level interaction effect of national-wealth and individual household-wealth using multilevel analysis.

    METHODS: Data from the World Health Survey conducted in 2002-2004, across 70 low-, middle- and high-income countries was used. Participants aged 18 years and over were selected using multistage, stratified cluster sampling. BMI was used as outcome variable. The potential determinants of individual-level BMI were participants' sex, age, marital-status, education, occupation, household-wealth and location(rural/urban) at the individual-level. The country-level factors used were average national income (GNI-PPP) and income inequality (Gini-index). A two-level random-intercepts and fixed-slopes model structure with individuals nested within countries was fitted, treating BMI as a continuous outcome.

    RESULTS: The weighted mean BMI and standard-error of the 206,266 people from 70-countries was 23.90 (4.84). All the low-income countries were below the 25.0 mean BMI level and most of the high-income countries were above. All wealthier quintiles of household-wealth had higher scores in BMI than lowest quintile. Each USD10000 increase in GNI-PPP was associated with a 0.4 unit increase in BMI. The Gini-index was not associated with BMI. All these variables explained 28.1% of country-level, 4.9% of individual-level and 7.7% of total variance in BMI. The cross-level interaction effect between GNI-PPP and household-wealth was significant. BMI increased as the GNI-PPP increased in first four quintiles of household-wealth. However, the BMI of the wealthiest people decreased as the GNI-PPP increased.

    CONCLUSION: Both individual-level and country-level factors made an independent contribution to the BMI of the people. Household-wealth and national-income had significant interaction effects.

  13. Masood M, Aggarwal A, Reidpath DD
    BMC Public Health, 2019 Sep 03;19(1):1212.
    PMID: 31481044 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-7536-0
    BACKGROUND: To investigate the association between national culture and national BMI in 53 low-middle- and high-income countries.

    METHODS: Data from World Health Survey conducted in 2002-2004 in low-middle- and high-income countries were used. Participants aged 18 years and over were selected using multistage, stratified cluster sampling. BMI was used as an outcome variable. Culture of the countries was measured using Hofstede's cultural dimensions: Uncertainty avoidance, individualism, Power Distance and masculinity. The potential determinants of individual-level BMI were participants' sex, age, marital status, education, occupation as well as household-wealth and location (rural/urban) at the individual-level. The country-level factors used were average national income (GNI-PPP), income inequality (Gini-index) and Hofstede's cultural dimensions. A two-level random-intercepts and fixed-slopes model structure with individuals nested within countries were fitted, treating BMI as a continuous outcome variable.

    RESULTS: A sample of 156,192 people from 53 countries was included in this analysis. The design-based (weighted) mean BMI (SE) in these 53 countries was 23.95(0.08). Uncertainty avoidance (UAI) and individualism (IDV) were significantly associated with BMI, showing that people in more individualistic or high uncertainty avoidance countries had higher BMI than collectivist or low uncertainty avoidance ones. This model explained that one unit increase in UAI or IDV was associated with 0.03 unit increase in BMI. Power distance and masculinity were not associated with BMI of the people. National level Income was also significantly associated with individual-level BMI.

    CONCLUSION: National culture has a substantial association with BMI of the individuals in the country. This association is important for understanding the pattern of obesity or overweight across different cultures and countries. It is also important to recognise the importance of the association of culture and BMI in developing public health interventions to reduce obesity or overweight.

  14. Tan MM, Chan CKY, Reidpath DD
    J Public Health (Oxf), 2017 Dec 01;39(4):e179-e185.
    PMID: 27738128 DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdw109
    Background: Socioeconomic status (SES) is a strong predictor of health, and individuals with higher SES generally have better health than those with lower SES. One of the pathways that SES influences health is through health behaviors, such as dietary intake, and a higher SES has been associated with a better diet. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a social gradient in dietary habits among the Seventh-Day Adventists, a group of conservative Christians, where healthy eating is part of the doctrinal teaching.

    Methods: Data from a survey of 574 Adventists residing in West Malaysia, aged 18-80 years, were analyzed. Dietary habits were measured using the Nutrition subscale of Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II.

    Results: Education and income were significantly associated with dietary habits before and after controlling for demographics. There was a gradient of association; a higher level of education and higher income were associated with better dietary habits. However, only education remained significantly associated with dietary habits when the other two socioeconomic variables were included. Employment was not significantly associated with dietary habits before or after controlling for demographic variables and the other two sociodemographic variables.

    Conclusions: This study showed that education is the strongest predictor of healthy diet, and a social gradient in dietary habits still exists even among health-conscious population.

  15. Reidpath DD, Davey TM, Kadirvelu A, Soyiri IN, Allotey P
    Prev Med, 2014 Feb;59:37-41.
    PMID: 24270054 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.11.011
    OBJECTIVES: Evidence that age of smoking initiation represents a risk factor for regular smoking in adolescence is complicated by inconsistencies in the operational definition of smoking initiation and simultaneous inclusion of age as an explanatory variable. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between age, age of smoking initiation and subsequent regular smoking.
    METHODS: A secondary analysis was conducted of the U.S. Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2011. A sex stratified multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to model the likelihood of regular smoking with age and age of smoking initiation as explanatory variables and race/ethnicity as a covariate.
    RESULTS: After controlling for race/ethnicity, age and age of smoking initiation were independently associated with regular smoking in males and females. Independent of age, a one year's decrease in the age of smoking initiation was associated with a 1.27 times increase in odds of regular smoking in females (95% CI: 1.192-1.348); and similar associations for males (OR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.216-1.341).
    CONCLUSION: While the majority of high school students do not become regular smokers after initiating smoking, earlier initiation of smoking is associated with subsequent regular smoking irrespective of sex or race/ethnicity. These findings have potentially important implications for intervention targeting.
    KEYWORDS: Adolescent; Epidemiology; Smoking
  16. Mairami FF, Warren N, Allotey PA, Mak JS, Reidpath DD
    Disabil Rehabil, 2020 01;42(1):102-113.
    PMID: 30183424 DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2018.1493544
    Purpose: Stroke is an abrupt event that often leaves survivors with long term disabilities, causing role changes, and financial strains on households. The profound impact of stroke on survivors may lead to a decline in quality of life due to the physical, psychological, and social difficulties they experience. Taking Malaysia as an example, this study aimed to explore the impact of stroke on survivors and how health services influence their recovery in low and middle-income countries (LMIC).Method: An ethnographic approach with data obtained primarily through in-depth interviews was used. Twenty-seven participants identified as having suffered a stroke were drawn from a health and demographic surveillance system in Malaysia.Results: The physical and social disruption of the lives of stroke survivors was intensified by the resultant financial constraints placed upon individuals, families and households, compounded by inadequate support from the health, and welfare systems. Despite the disruption to their lives, most participants were, at least in part, able to reestablish their lives through various factors that include a strong family support and active coping strategies.Conclusion: In LMIC, recovery can be shaped by the family unit and through active coping strategies especially those in relation to spirituality.Implications for rehabilitationThe impact of stroke on survivors and lack of specialized stroke care compromise the recovery process and quality of life for stroke survivors in low and middle-income countries.Support from the family and reinforcement of religious coping were judged to successfully aid recovery.Physical and emotional impairments as well as psychosocial wellbeing of survivors in the context of environmental factors need to be addressed.
  17. Masood M, Masood Y, Reidpath DD, Newton T
    Lancet, 2014 Jun 14;383(9934):2046.
    PMID: 24931691 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60996-X
  18. Foo CY, Bonsu KO, Nallamothu BK, Reid CM, Dhippayom T, Reidpath DD, et al.
    Heart, 2018 08;104(16):1362-1369.
    PMID: 29437704 DOI: 10.1136/heartjnl-2017-312517
    OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the relationship between door-to-balloon delay in primary percutaneous coronary intervention and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI) outcomes and examine for potential effect modifiers.

    METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies that have investigated the relationship of door-to-balloon delay and clinical outcomes. The main outcomes include mortality and heart failure.

    RESULTS: 32 studies involving 299 320 patients contained adequate data for quantitative reporting. Patients with ST-elevation MI who experienced longer (>90 min) door-to-balloon delay had a higher risk of short-term mortality (pooled OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.40 to 1.65) and medium-term to long-term mortality (pooled OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.13 to 2.06). A non-linear time-risk relation was observed (P=0.004 for non-linearity). The association between longer door-to-balloon delay and short-term mortality differed between those presented early and late after symptom onset (Cochran's Q 3.88, P value 0.049) with a stronger relationship among those with shorter prehospital delays.

    CONCLUSION: Longer door-to-balloon delay in primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation MI is related to higher risk of adverse outcomes. Prehospital delays modified this effect. The non-linearity of the time-risk relation might explain the lack of population effect despite an improved door-to-balloon time in the USA.

    CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42015026069).

  19. Mairami FF, Warren N, Allotey PA, Reidpath DD
    Disabil Rehabil, 2020 11;42(22):3189-3198.
    PMID: 30950658 DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2019.1588399
    Purpose: A stroke is a sudden event which may leave individuals and their families ill-prepared to deal with the resultant disability. Several contextual factors can influence the recovery process. These factors, internal and external, exist interactively in the lived experiences of the survivors. The limited availability of rehabilitation centres that are located in urban centres meant that recovery predominately occurred outside of the biomedical health and instead relied upon the resources available to individuals and their families.Methods: A qualitative approach with data from in-depth interviews and observations were used to identify contextual factors that shaped recovery following stroke in a community. Twenty-seven individuals with stroke were drawn from a health and demographic surveillance system in Malaysia.Results: Hope and optimism, coping strategies, motivation and support from family and friends, and the use of alternative and complementary medicine shaped the process of recovery within a context where infrastructure is extremely limited.Conclusion: The identification of factors that facilitate the recovery process provides a background in which health care providers can utilise to improve their understanding of the stroke experience. Such understanding could be instrumental in aiding health professionals to offer the most effective help to their clients.Implications for rehabilitationIdentification of contextual factors provides a background for the understanding of the stroke experience.Incorporation of religion into rehabilitation could support and maintain hope in recovery for the survivors and aid acceptance.A collaboration of healthcare professionals with traditional medicine therapists may prove beneficial for the rehabilitation of stroke survivors in Malaysia.
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