METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 1150, 5-6 year-old preschool children in Selangor, Malaysia. Mothers answered a questionnaire on socio-economic status, the Malay-Modified Dental Anxiety Scale to assess maternal dental anxiety, and the Malay-Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale to assess COHRQoL. Child's dental anxiety was assessed using the Malay-Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale via a face-to-face interview prior to oral examination to assess dental caries. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling to assess the relationship between maternal and child dental anxiety and COHRQoL.
RESULTS: Overall, complete data on 842 mother-child dyads were analysed. The mean scores of total ECOHIS, the child impacts section (CIS), and the family impacts section (FIS) were 17.7 (SD = 4.9), 12.6 (SD = 3.7), and 5.1 (SD = 1.9), respectively. The mean dental anxiety scores for mothers and children were 11.8 (SD = 4.5) and 16.9 (SD = 4.3), respectively. Maternal dental anxiety was associated with the CIS (b = 0.08, p
OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed to explore the occurrence of anxiety, depression and to identify the factors associated with hospital readmission among older patients after AECOPD discharge.
METHODS: A multicentre prospective study was conducted in Malaysia (from 1st September 2012 till 31st September 2013) among older patients (≥60 years) hospitalised for AECOPD. Anxiety and depression were assessed on discharge using previously validated questionnaires, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7 and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), respectively. Patients were followed up for a period of 3 months after discharge.
RESULTS: A total of 81 patients with a median age of 72 years (IQR 66.40-78.00) were recruited. Anxiety was observed in 34.57% while 38.27% had depression. Both anxiety and depression were detected in 25.93% of the patients. A history of frequent AECOPD admissions was found to be associated with developing depressive symptoms, while anxiety scores were associated with severe dyspnoea. Severe depression was more commonly identified among patients aged 60-75 and in those with a history of tuberculosis. A high readmission rate (40.74%) during the 3-month period was noticed. History of frequent AECOPD admissions (OR = 2.87; 95% CI 1.05-7.85, P = 0.040) and ischemic heart disease (IHD) (OR = 4.04; 95% CI 1.1-14.6, P = 0.032) were identified as the factors associated with the risk of hospital readmission.
CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety and depression were found to be relatively common among older patients with AECOPD. IHD and history of frequent COPD hospitalisation were associated with short-term readmission among the elderly.
METHODS: Through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Costs in Oncology study, 1490 newly diagnosed cancer patients were followed-up in Malaysia for 1 year. Health-related quality of life was assessed by using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and EuroQol-5 (EQ-5D) dimension questionnaires at baseline, 3 and 12 months. Psychological distress was assessed by using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Data were modeled by using general linear and logistic regressions analyses.
RESULTS: One year after diagnosis, the mean EORTC QLQ-C30 Global Health score of the cancer survivors remained low at 53.0 over 100 (SD 21.4). Fifty-four percent of survivors reported at least moderate levels of anxiety, while 27% had at least moderate levels of depression. Late stage at diagnosis was the strongest predictor of low HRQoL. Increasing age, being married, high-income status, hospital type, presence of comorbidities, and chemotherapy administration were also associated with worse HRQoL. The significant predictors of psychological distress were cancer stage and hospital type.
CONCLUSION: Cancer survivors in this middle-income setting have persistently impaired HRQoL and high levels of psychological distress. Development of a holistic cancer survivorship program addressing wider aspects of well-being is urgently needed in our settings.
METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among PLWHA attending an ART centre of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan. HRQoL was assessed using a validated Urdu version of EuroQol 5 dimensions 3 level (EQ-5D-3L) and its Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS).
RESULTS: Of the 602 patients included in the analyses, 59.5% (n = 358) reported no impairment in self-care, while 63.1% (n = 380) were extremely anxious/depressed. The overall mean EQ-5D utility score and visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) score were 0.388 (SD: 0.41) and 66.20 (SD: 17.22), respectively. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that the factors significantly associated with HRQoL were: female gender; age > 50 years; having primary and secondary education; > 1 year since HIV diagnosis; HIV serostatus AIDS-converted; higher CD 4 T lymphocytes count; detectable viral load; and increased time to ART.
CONCLUSIONS: The current findings have shown that PLWHA in Pakistan adherent to ART had a good overall HRQoL, though with significantly higher depression. Some of the factors identified are amenable to institution-based interventions while mitigating depression to enhance the HRQoL of PLWHA in Pakistan. The HRQoL determined in this study could be useful for future economic evaluation studies for ART and in designing future interventions.
METHOD: A single-blind randomized controlled trial was carried out among 162 oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy from July 2013 to February 2014 in a government hospital with oncology facilities in Malaysia. Participants were randomized to either the intervention group or the control group. Chemotherapy counseling using the module on 'Managing Patients on Chemotherapy' by Pharmacists was delivered to the intervention group. The outcome measures were assessed at baseline, first follow-up and second follow-up and third follow-up post-intervention. Chi-square, independent samples t-test and two-way repeated measures ANOVA were conducted in the course of the data analyses.
RESULTS: In assessing the impact of the chemotherapy counseling module, the study revealed that the module along with repetitive counseling showed significant improvement of quality of life in the intervention group as compared to the control group with a large effect size in physical health (p = 0.001, partial Ƞ2 = 0.66), psychological (p = 0.001, partial Ƞ2 = 0.65), social relationships (p = 0.001, partial Ƞ2 = 0.30), and environment (p = 0.001, partial Ƞ2 = 0.67) and decrease in the anxiety (p = 0.000; partial Ƞ2 = 0.23), depression (p = 0.000; partial Ƞ2 = 0.40).
CONCLUSION: The module on 'Managing Patients on Chemotherapy' along with repetitive counseling by pharmacists has been shown to be effective in improving quality of life and decreasing anxiety and depression among oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: National Medical Research Register (NMRR) of Malaysia and given a registration number NMRR-12-1057-12,363 on 21 December 2012.
METHODS: This was an observational, cross-sectional study with a sample size of 417 students. An online survey utilizing International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was distributed to Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman students via Google forms.
RESULTS: During lockdown, family income [χ2 (1, n = 124) = 5.155, p = 0.023], and physical activity (PA) [χ2 (1, n = 134) = 6.366, p = 0.012] were associated with anxiety, while depression was associated with gender [χ2 (1, n = 75) = 4.655, p = 0.031]. After lockdown, family income was associated with both anxiety [χ2 (1, n = 111) = 8.089, p = 0.004], and depression [χ2 (1, n = 115) = 9.305, p = 0.002]. During lockdown, family income (OR = 1.60, p = 0.018), and PA (OR = 0.59, p = 0.011) were predictors for anxiety, while gender (OR = 0.65, p = 0.046) was a predictor for depression. After lockdown, family income was a predictor for both anxiety (OR = 1.67, p = 0.011), and depression (OR = 1.70, p = 0.009).
CONCLUSION: Significant negative effects attributed to the COVID-19 lockdown, and certain factors predisposed to the worsening of mental health status in university students. Low family income, PA, and female gender were the major determinants and predictors linked to anxiety and depression.