METHODS: The WoCKSS was developed with 20 and 31 items for knowledge and stigma domains, respectively, based on an extensive review of COVID-19 literature. Content validation was conducted by four experts using a content validation form to assess the relevancy of each item to the intended construct. Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated to measure the agreement between the experts on the relevance of each item to the intended construct. Face validation was then conducted by randomly selecting 10 respondents from the manufacturing industry, who rated the clarity and comprehension of each item using a face validation form. The Item Face Validity Index (I-FVI) was calculated to determine the clarity and comprehension of each question, and only items with an I-FVI ≥ 0.83 were retained.
RESULTS: The WoCKSS achieved excellent content validity in both knowledge and stigma domains. Only 19 items from the knowledge domain and 24 items from the stigma domain were retained after CVI analysis. All retained items received a CVI score of 1.00, indicating perfect agreement among the experts. FVI analysis resulted in 17 items for the knowledge domain and 22 items for the stigma domain. The knowledge domain achieved a high level of agreement among respondents, with a mean I-FVI of 0.91 and a S-FVI/UA of 0.89. The stigma domain also showed high agreement, with a mean I-FVI of 0.99 and a S-FVI/UA of 0.86.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the WoCKSS demonstrated high content and face validity. However, further testing on a larger sample size is required to establish its construct validity and reliability.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study enrolled 143,567 adults aged 35-70 years from 4 high-income countries (HIC), 12 middle-income countries (MIC), and 5 low-income countries (LIC). The mean follow-up was 9.0 ± 3.0 years.
RESULTS: Among those with diabetes, CVD rates (LIC 10.3, MIC 9.2, HIC 8.3 per 1,000 person-years, P < 0.001), all-cause mortality (LIC 13.8, MIC 7.2, HIC 4.2 per 1,000 person-years, P < 0.001), and CV mortality (LIC 5.7, MIC 2.2, HIC 1.0 per 1,000 person-years, P < 0.001) were considerably higher in LIC compared with MIC and HIC. Within LIC, mortality was higher in those in the lowest tertile of wealth index (low 14.7%, middle 10.8%, and high 6.5%). In contrast to HIC and MIC, the increased CV mortality in those with diabetes in LIC remained unchanged even after adjustment for behavioral risk factors and treatments (hazard ratio [95% CI] 1.89 [1.58-2.27] to 1.78 [1.36-2.34]).
CONCLUSIONS: CVD rates, all-cause mortality, and CV mortality were markedly higher among those with diabetes in LIC compared with MIC and HIC with mortality risk remaining unchanged even after adjustment for risk factors and treatments. There is an urgent need to improve access to care to those with diabetes in LIC to reduce the excess mortality rates, particularly among those in the poorer strata of society.
METHODS: An online survey was conducted using a non-probabilistic snowball sampling approach via the social media channels WhatsApp and Instagram. The inclusion criteria were female Bruneian citizens or permanent residents, aged between 18 and 65 years old, who can understand English or Malay, and use cosmetic products at least once a day.
RESULTS: A total of 445 participants responded to the online survey. Most of the participants agreed that the use of cosmetic products improves one's physical appearance to the public (391, 87.8%) and also improves self-confidence (405, 91.1%). There were significant differences in monthly cosmetic product expenses and participants' attitudes about safe cosmetic use (p = 0.001). No significant changes in the individuals' attitudes based on their age or educational level were observed. Overall, the participants had a good level of cosmetic safety practice. Almost half of the participants use social media to obtain information regarding what cosmetics to use or purchase.
CONCLUSION: There is a medium to high level of attitude and a high level of practice regarding the safe use of cosmetics among Bruneian female adults. Social media was the main source of information for the respondents, followed by friend circle and family members.
METHODS: A total of 2598 serum samples (1417 urban samples, 1181 rural samples) were randomly collected from adults ages 35-74 y. The presence of the dengue IgG antibody and neutralising antibodies to dengue virus (DENV) 1-4 was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the plaque reduction neutralisation test assay, respectively.
RESULTS: The prevalence of dengue IgG seropositivity was 85.39% in urban areas and 83.48% in rural areas. The seropositivity increased with every 10-y increase in age. Ethnicity was associated with dengue seropositivity in urban areas but not in rural areas. The factors associated with dengue seropositivity were sex and working outdoors. In dengue IgG-positive serum samples, 98.39% of the samples had neutralising antibodies against DENV3, but only 70.97% of them had neutralising antibodies against DENV4.
CONCLUSION: The high seroprevalence of dengue found in urban and rural areas suggests that both urban and rural communities are vital for establishing and sustaining DENV transmission in Malaysia.
Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted, using the Kedah audit samples data extracted from the National Diabetes Registry (NDR) from the year 2014 to 2018. A total of 25,062 registered type 2 diabetes mellitus patients were selected using the inclusion and exclusion criteria from the registry. Only patients with complete data on their HbA1C, lipid profile, waist circumference and BMI were analysed using SPSS version 21.
Results: the means for the age, BMI and waist circumference of the samples were 61.5 (±10.85) years, 27.3 (±5.05) kg/m2 and 89.46 (±13.58) cm, respectively. Poor glycaemic control (HbA1c>6.5%) was observed in 72.7% of the patients, with females having poorer glycaemic control. The BMI and waist circumference were found to be significantly associated with glycaemic control (P<0.001). The total cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoproteins values showed positive correlation with glycaemic control (r = 0.178, 0.157, 0.145, p<0.001), while high-density lipoproteins values are negatively correlated (r = -0.019, p<0.001).
Conclusion: implementing lifestyle changes such as physical activity and dietary modifications are important in the management of BMI, waist circumference and body lipids, which in turn results in improved glycaemic control.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using registry-based secondary data, a retrospective cohort study was conducted. TB patients' sociodemographic characteristics, clinical disease data and treatment outcomes at one-year surveillance were extracted from the database and analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes and all-cause mortality.
RESULTS: A total of 97,505 TB cases (64.3% males) were included in this study. TB treatment success (cases categorized as cured and completed treatment) was observed in 80.7% of the patients. Among the 19.3% patients with unsuccessful treatment outcomes, 10.2% died, 5.3% were lost to follow-up, 3.6% had outcomes not evaluated while the remaining failed treatment. Unsuccessful TB treatment outcomes were found to be associated with older age, males, foreign nationality, urban dwellers, lower education levels, passive detection of TB cases, absence of bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) scar, underlying diabetes mellitus, smoking, extrapulmonary TB, history of previous TB treatment, advanced chest radiography findings and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Factors found associated with all-cause mortality were similar except for nationality (higher among Malaysians) and place of residence (higher among rural dwellers), while smoking and history of previous TB treatment were not found to be associated with all-cause mortality.
CONCLUSIONS: This study identified various sociodemographic characteristics and TB disease-related variables which were associated with unsuccessful TB treatment outcomes and mortality; these can be used to guide measures for risk assessment and stratification of TB patients in future.
METHODS: A set of primers and probe targeting rrs genes of 22 Leptospira spp. were designed and evaluated on 31 Leptospira isolates, 41 other organisms and 65 clinical samples from suspected patients.
RESULTS: The developed assay was able to detect as low as 20 fg Leptospira DNA per reaction (equivalent to approximately 4 copies) and showed high specificity against the tested leptospiral strains. No cross amplification was observed with the other organisms. During the evaluation of the confirmed clinical specimens, the developed assay was able to correctly identify all positive samples (n = 10/10). One amplification was observed in a negative sample (n = 1/55). The sequencing of the PCR product of the discordant sample revealed that the sequences were similar to those of L. interrogans and L. kirschneri.
CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the developed Taqman qPCR assay is sensitive, specific and has potential to be applied in a larger subsequent study.