METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out at three selected public schools in the state of Selangor. A total of 379 Malaysian adolescents completed the PedsQL 4.0 adolescent self-report and 218 (55.9%) parents completed the PedsQL 4.0 parent proxy-report. Weight and height of adolescents were measured and BMI-for-age by sex was used to determine their body weight status.
RESULTS: There were 50.8% male and 49.2% female adolescents who participated in this study (14.25 ± 1.23 years). The prevalence of overweight and obesity (25.8%) was four times higher than the prevalence of severe thinness and thinness (6.1%). Construct validity was analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Based on CFA, adolescent self-report and parent proxy-report met the criteria of convergent validity (factor loading > 0.5, Average Variance Extracted (AVE) > 0.5, Construct Reliability > 0.7) and showed good fit to the data. The adolescent self-report and parent proxy-report exhibited discriminant validity as the AVE values were larger than the R(2) values. Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the adolescent self-report (α = 0.862) and parent proxy-report (α = 0.922) showed these instruments are reliable. Parents perceived the HRQoL of adolescents was poorer compared to the perception of the adolescent themselves (t = 5.92, p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in total HRQoL score between male and female adolescents (t = 0.858, p > 0.05). Parent proxy-report was negatively associated with the adolescents' BMI-for-age (r = -0.152, p < 0.05) whereas no significant association was found between adolescent self-report and BMI-for-age (r = 0.001, p > 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Adolescent self-report and parent proxy-report of the PedsQL 4.0 are valid and reliable to assess HRQoL of Malaysian adolescents. Future studies are recommended to use both adolescent self-report and parent-proxy report of HRQoL as adolescents and parents can provide different perspectives on HRQoL of adolescents.
METHODS: We used Cox regression to analyze data of a cohort of Asian children.
RESULTS: A total of 2608 children were included; median age at cART was 5.7 years. Time-updated weight for age z score < -3 was associated with mortality (P < 0.001) independent of CD4% and < -2 was associated with immunological failure (P ≤ 0.03) independent of age at cART.
CONCLUSIONS: Weight monitoring provides useful data to inform clinical management of children on cART in resource-limited settings.
DESIGN: Population-based, retrospective cohort study. Participants were followed up for 5 years from 2006 to 2010. Mortality data were obtained via record linkages with the Malaysian National Registration Department. Multiple Cox regression was applied to compare risk of CVD and all-cause mortality between BMI categories adjusting for age, gender and ethnicity. Models were generated for all participants, all participants the first 2 years of follow-up, healthy participants, healthy never smokers, never smokers, current smokers and former smokers.
SETTING: All fourteen states in Malaysia.
SUBJECTS: Malaysian adults (n 32 839) aged 18 years or above from the third National Health and Morbidity Survey.
RESULTS: Total follow-up time was 153 814 person-years with 1035 deaths from all causes and 225 deaths from CVD. Underweight (BMI<18·5 kg/m2) was associated with a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality, while obesity (BMI ≥30·0 kg/m2) was associated with a heightened risk of CVD mortality. Overweight (BMI=25·0-29·9 kg/m2) was inversely associated with risk of all-cause mortality. Underweight was significantly associated with all-cause mortality in all models except for current smokers. Overweight was inversely associated with all-cause mortality in all participants. Although a positive trend was observed between BMI and CVD mortality in all participants, a significant association was observed only for severe obesity (BMI≥35·0 kg/m2).
CONCLUSIONS: Underweight was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality and obesity with increased risk of CVD mortality. Therefore, maintaining a normal BMI through leading an active lifestyle and healthy dietary habits should continue to be promoted.
METHODS: This study involved 70 consecutive Lenke 1 and 2 AIS patients who underwent scoliosis correction with alternate-level pedicle screw instrumentation. Preoperative parameters that were measured included main thoracic (MT) Cobb angle, proximal thoracic (PT) Cobb angle, lumbar Cobb angle as well as thoracic kyphosis. Side-bending flexibility (SBF) and fulcrum-bending flexibility (FBF) were derived from the measurements. Preoperative height and post-operative height increment was measured by an independent observer using a standardized method.
RESULTS: MT Cobb angle and FB Cobb angle were significant predictors ( p < 0.001) of height increment from multiple linear regression analysis ( R = 0.784, R2 = 0.615). PT Cobb angle, lumbar, SB Cobb angle, preoperative height and number of fused segment were not significant predictors for the height increment based on the multivariable analysis. Increase in post-operative height could be calculated by the formula: Increase in height (cm) = (0.09 × preoperative MT Cobb angle) - (0.04 x FB Cobb angle) - 0.5.
CONCLUSION: The proposed formula of increase in height (cm) = (0.09 × preoperative MT Cobb angle) - (0.04 × FB Cobb angle) - 0.5 could predict post-operative height gain to within 5 mm accuracy in 51% of patients, within 10 mm in 70% and within 15 mm in 86% of patients.
METHODS: We investigated overall obesity and abdominal adiposity in relation to SIC in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a large prospective cohort of approximately half a million men and women from ten European countries. Overall obesity and abdominal obesity were assessed by body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression modeling was performed to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Stratified analyses were conducted by sex, BMI, and smoking status.
RESULTS: During an average of 13.9 years of follow-up, 131 incident cases of SIC (including 41 adenocarcinomas, 44 malignant carcinoid tumors, 15 sarcomas and 10 lymphomas, and 21 unknown histology) were identified. WC was positively associated with SIC in a crude model that also included BMI (HR per 5-cm increase = 1.20, 95 % CI 1.04, 1.39), but this association attenuated in the multivariable model (HR 1.18, 95 % CI 0.98, 1.42). However, the association between WC and SIC was strengthened when the analysis was restricted to adenocarcinoma of the small intestine (multivariable HR adjusted for BMI = 1.56, 95 % CI 1.11, 2.17). There were no other significant associations.
CONCLUSION: WC, rather than BMI, may be positively associated with adenocarcinomas but not carcinoid tumors of the small intestine.
IMPACT: Abdominal obesity is a potential risk factor for adenocarcinoma in the small intestine.