OBJECTIVE: To develop a Malaysian version of St George's respiratory COPD specific questionnaire (SGRQ-CM), to evaluate the full spectrum of psychometric properties (reliability, validity and responsiveness), to test the factor structure and to assess minimum clinically important difference for the SGRQ-CM, to be used in population of Malaysia.
METHODOLOGY: SGRQ-C was translated to Bahasa Malaysia using a standard protocol. 240 COPD patients were included in the study. All patients were followed-up for six months. Construct validity, internal consistency, item convergent validity, test-retest ability, responsiveness, factor analysis and MCID of the Malaysian version of SGRQ-C to be used in population of Malaysia were evaluated.
RESULTS: The Cronbach alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for SGRQ-CM were reported as 0.87, and 0.88 respectively. Correlation of SGRQ-CM with CAT, EQ-5D-5 L, mMRC dyspnea scales and FEV1%predicted were reported as 0.86, - 0.82, 0.72 and - 0.42 respectively. Correlation coefficient between the subscales and other clinical and health status measures ranged from r = - 0.35 to r = - 0.87. The MCID was reported as 5.07 (- 2.54-12.67).
CONCLUSION: The Malaysian version of SGRQ-C has a good psychometric property comparable to those of the original version and has a strong evidence of validity, reliability and responsiveness towards disease severity in Malaysian COPD patients. It can be recommended as a reliable quality of life measure for future research.
METHOD: A total of 95 men (47 men with intellectual disability; 48 men without intellectual disability), aged 20-39 years, participated in this study. Anthropometric profile, dietary intake, physical activity level and calcaneal speed of sound (SOS) were collected.
RESULTS: The men with intellectual disability had moderate diet quality whilst the men without intellectual disability had poor diet quality. More participants with intellectual disability (97.9%) were inactive compared with their counterparts (10.4%). The SOS value was similar between groups and was lower than the reference. Increasing age and low physical activity level were negative predictors for bone health status.
CONCLUSION: Both young men with and without intellectual disability have suboptimal nutritional and bone health status. Strategies to improve their nutritional and bone health status are warranted.
Methods: We conducted a single-arm intervention study at the Clinical Lab of Community Medicine, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and included 31 healthy individuals aged between 30 and 60 years old. Wet cupping therapy was performed at five treatment points at the beginning of the study and repeated after three months. Health outcomes at baseline, one, three, and four months were assessed for FBS, renal function parameters (urea, creatinine, and uric acid), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and von Willebrand factor (vWF).
Results: Forty-five percent of participants were female, and the mean age of study participants was 44.9±6.4 years. Wet cupping therapy significantly reduced FBS, serum urea, and serum creatinine at one, three, and four months compared with baseline values. Serum uric acid and SBP showed a significant reduction at one and four months compared with baseline. The vWF (a measure of endothelial function) had a 4.0% reduction at four months compared to baseline, with a mean difference of 5.3 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.20 = 8.55; p = 0.002).
Conclusions: This study provides preliminary support that repeated wet cupping therapy enhances body health status; thus, it could be an effective complementary medicine in disease prevention.
DESIGN AND METHODS: Four PPSs, including headache, chest pain, low back pain, and muscle pain, and subjective depressive symptoms were assessed using the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised.
FINDINGS: Out of 528 participants, 390 (73.9%) had at least one PPS. After adjusting for sex, depression severity, disability, fatigue, physical health status, and mental health status, PPSs were found to be associated with crying easily, blaming oneself, feeling lonely, feeling blue, and worrying too much.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Almost three-quarters of Asian patients with MDD experience PPSs. PPSs are associated with some subjective feelings of depression.
Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah between January and April 2020. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire which encompasses details about sociodemographic, health status, environment, and employment characteristics.
Results: A total of 290 waste collectors with a mean age of 40 (±9) years old were participated in the study. Most of them were from Kadazan-Dusun-Murut ethnic origin with educational background till secondary school. The average monthly income of the workers was USD 298.45 (±171.9) per month, and they had been in service for 11 (±9.04) years. Respiratory symptoms were seen in 21% of the workers. The identified significant risk factors were determined as underlying chronic diseases (OR=2.34; 95% CI=1.054, 5.219) and contact with pets (OR=1.87; 95% CI=1.004, 3.288).
Conclusion: Respiratory symptoms are prevalent amidst domestic waste collectors and related to their health and field activities.