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The relationship between Kuala Lumpur haze and asthmatic attacks in children

Zailina Hashim, Juliana Jalaludin, Norzila Muhamad Zainudin, Azizi Omar, Jamal H. Hashim

Malaysian Journal of Child Health, 1997;9(2):151-159.
MyJurnal

A study on 30 asthmatic children was conducted in Kuala Lumpur. The objective of this study was to study the relationship between respirable particulate (PM10), sulphur dioxide, ozone and various meteorological factors such as humidity, level ofrainfall and temperature with asthma attacks. This study was conducted from 1st September to 31 December 1994. Patients were selected from the Paediatric Unit, Kuala Lumpur Hospital. Questionnaires were used to obtain information from their parents on the history and severity ofasthmatic attacks ofthese patients. Questionnaires were also used to determine if the indoor sources contributed to the attack. Diary cards were used to collect information on the frequency of asthmatic attacks. Each patient's progress was followed through every week during the study period and the attacks were recorded. The data on air quality on the PM10, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone were collected hourly using the microcomputer system of air monitoring unit from the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia air quality monitoring station located at the City Hall, Kuala Lumpur. The meteorological parameters such as temperature, relative humidity and rain-fall levels were also monitored daily. The asthmatic attack percentage was obtained by dividing the number of attacks in a day with the total number of sample and multiplying by a hundred. Statistical tests indicated that there was a significant correlation between asthmatic attacks and the PM10 concentrations (r=0.73), nitrogen dioxide (r=0.57) and.carbon monoxide (r=0.53) throughout the study period. During the haze episode, more significant correlations between asthmatic attacks, PM10 concentra-tions (0.86), carbon monoxide (0.79) and nitrogen oxide (0.53) were found. Multiple regression statistical test showed that PM10 had the greatest influence on the asthmatic attack rate. The minute respirable particulate which entered the respiratory system of the asthmatics triggered attacks on these patients.

Matched MeSH terms: Child
The influence of low blood lead concentrations on the cognitive and physical development of primary school children in Malaysia

Zailina H, Junidah R, Josephine Y, Jamal HH

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2008;20(4):317-26.
PMID: 19124326 DOI: 10.1177/1010539508322697

This study aimed to determine the relationship between blood lead (BPb) concentrations and cognitive and physical development in school children. A total of 169 urban children and 100 industrial children of Malay ethnicity, in the age range of 6(1/2) to 8(1/2) years, were selected. BPb was determined using GF atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The mean cognitive score (102.55) of the children from the industrial area was significantly higher than that of the urban children (95.09; P < .001). However, no significant differences were found in the BPb levels between the 2 groups (industrial, 3.75 microg/dL; urban, 3.56 microg/dL). There was significant inverse correlation between BPb and cognitive scores for all children (P < .05). The cognitive scores for all children were influenced by BPb after adjustments (P < .05). The urban children had significantly better Weight for Height and Left Arm Circumference values than those from industrial area. There was no significant correlation between BPb and the anthropometric measurements. In conclusion, low BPb influenced the cognitive development, whereas physical development was not affected.

Matched MeSH terms: Child; Child Development*
Fulltext Biological monitoring of environmental lead on school children subsequent to the use of unleaded gasoline in Malaysia

Zailina H, Junidah R, Jamal HH

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2005;1(2):87-95.

Introduction: A study on biological monitoring of lead on children was conducted when unleaded gasoline was widely used in 1998. The objectives were to monitor lead exposure using blood lead, urine d-aminolevulinic acid (d-ALA) and urine lead concentrations as biological indicators and to determine the relationship between these variables.
Methodology: Two hundred and sixty-nine school children, 169 from an urban school of Kuala Lumpur and 100 from an industrial school in southern Malaysia were selected for the study. These were Malay children in the age range of 61/2 to 81/2 years old. Blood and urine lead concentrations were analyzed using the Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Urine d-ALA was measured with Spectrophotometer UV/VIS.
Results: The mean blood lead concentrations of the urban children (3.56 mg/dl) and the industrial children (3.75 mg/dl) were not significantly different (p=0.451). The urine d-ALA (urban=9.606; industrial=6.965 mg/g creatinine) and urine lead (urban=2.625; industrial=4.548 mg/g creatinine) of the urban children were significantly higher than the industrial children (p=0.014: p 10 mg/dl. About 78% of the urban children and 76% of the industrial children have urine d-ALA in a normal range (<0.6 mg/100ml) while 22% of the urban children and 24% of the industrial children were in the acceptable range (0.6 - 2.0 mg/100ml). All the children had normal urine lead concentrations (<8 mg/100ml).
Conclusion: These children were not highly exposed to lead as indicated by their blood lead, urine d-ALA and urine lead concentrations which were below the allowable standard in both study areas . This may be due to the total ban on leaded gasoline in the country since 1998 and as a result, the environmental lead exposure in these areas was quite low.
Keywords: Children's lead exposure, blood lead, urine lead, urine d-ALA

Matched MeSH terms: Child
Diagnosis and treatment of branchial cleft anomalies in UKMMC: a 10-year retrospective study

Zaifullah S, Yunus MR, See GB

Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol, 2013 Mar;270(4):1501-6.
PMID: 23053382 DOI: 10.1007/s00405-012-2200-7

Branchial cleft anomalies result from abnormal persistence of branchial apparatus, which is located at the lateral part of the neck. These occur due to failure of obliteration of the branchial apparatus during embryonic development. Differential diagnoses of lateral neck mass are salivary gland or neurogenic neoplasms, paragangliomas, adenopathies, cystic hygroma or cystic metastasis from squamous cell carcinoma or thyroid papillary carcinoma. Clinically, a branchial cyst is smooth, round, fluctuant and non-tender, and usually occurs over the upper part of the neck, anterior to the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Sometimes, it may present as infected cyst (or abscess), a sinus or fistula. Surgical excision is the definitive treatment for branchial anomalies. The objective of the work was to study the demographic data, clinical presentation, definite diagnostic workup and treatment of patients diagnosed with branchial anomalies. This is a retrospective study of 26 patients who were diagnosed with branchial anomalies (branchial cyst and fistula), of which only 12 patients had data available between July 1999 and June 2009 at the Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre. Twelve cases of branchial anomalies were seen, in which 10 patients had second branchial cyst anomalies, 1 had third branchial fistula and 1 had bilateral branchial lesion. There were seven females and five males. The age of the patients varied over a wide range (4-44 years), but the majority of the patients were in their second and third decade of life. All branchial anomalies occurred at the classical site; eight patients had left-sided neck lesion. Correct clinical diagnosis was made only in five patients (41.6 %). All patients underwent surgical excision with no reported recurrence. Branchial anomalies are frequently forgotten in the differential diagnosis of lateral neck swelling. Diagnosis is usually delayed, leading to improper treatment. The diagnosis of patients who present with lateral neck cystic swelling with or without episodes of recurrent neck abscess should be considered with a high suspicion for branchial anomalies. FNA cytology is a good investigative tool in reaching toward a diagnosis of branchial lesion, with the concurrent assistance of radiological modalities. Surgical excision is the gold standard treatment of lesions of branchial anomalies.

Matched MeSH terms: Child; Child, Preschool
Fulltext Sadness regulation strategies and measurement: A scoping review

Zaid SM, Hutagalung FD, Bin Abd Hamid HS, Taresh SM

PLoS One, 2021;16(8):e0256088.
PMID: 34388181 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256088

BACKGROUNDS: Accurate measurement and suitable strategies facilitate people regulate their sadness in an effective manner. Regulating or mitigating negative emotions, particularly sadness, is crucial mainly because constant negative emotions may lead to psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety. This paper presents an overview of sadness regulation strategies and related measurement.
METHOD: Upon adhering to five-step scoping review, this study combed through articles that looked into sadness regulation retrieved from eight databases.
RESULTS: As a result of reviewing 40 selected articles, 110 strategies were identified to regulate emotions, particularly sadness. Some of the most commonly reported strategies include expressive suppression, cognitive reappraisal, distraction, seeking social or emotional support, and rumination. The four types of measures emerged from the review are self-reported, informant report (parents or peers), open-ended questions, and emotion regulation instructions. Notably, most studies had tested psychometric properties using Cronbach's alpha alone, while only a handful had assessed validity (construct and factorial validity) and reliability (Cronbach's alpha or test-retest) based on responses captured from questionnaire survey.
CONCLUSION: Several sadness regulation strategies appeared to vary based on gender, age, and use of strategy. Despite the general measurement of emotion regulation, only one measure was developed to measure sadness regulation exclusively for children. Future studies may develop a comprehensive battery of measures to assess sadness regulation using multi-component method.

Matched MeSH terms: Child
Fulltext Child abuse in Malaysia: a neglected child health issue

Zahilah Filzah, FahishamTaib

Malaysian Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2015;21(1):0-0.
MyJurnal

Child abuse's trend has been on the rise in Malaysia. Despite strong legislative rules of Child Act 2001, the response of the community is believed to be inadequate. Various factors have been highlighted to ensure effective management of the issue. Child abuse is considered a social emergency due to its complexity and involvement of emotional, family dynamic and domestic instability. The success of the managing these cases largely depends on our urgency and collaborative partnership between multidisciplinary team members, to improve on the welfare of these children, albeit a slower outcome. The community as a whole has to be proactive in reporting hidden cases to avoid mortality or morbidity, as a result of the perpetrator's actions.

Matched MeSH terms: Child; Child Abuse
Fulltext Intestinal nematode infections and efficacy study of oxantel-pyrantel pamoate among plantation workers

Zahedi M, Oothuman P, Sabapathy NN, Abu Bakar N

Med J Malaysia, 1980 Sep;35(1):31-7.
PMID: 7253995
Matched MeSH terms: Child; Child, Preschool
Breakfast consumption and mental health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Zahedi H, Djalalinia S, Sadeghi O, Zare Garizi F, Asayesh H, Payab M, et al.

Nutr Neurosci, 2020 Dec 14.
PMID: 33314992 DOI: 10.1080/1028415X.2020.1853411

OBJECTIVE: Several studies have been conducted on the relationship between breakfast consumption and mental health with conflicting results. Therefore, the present systematic review and meta-analysis was undertaken to summarize evidences on the association between skipping breakfast and mental health.
METHODS: We searched online databases for all related papers through the comprehensive international data bases of Institute of PubMed/ MEDLINE, ISI/WOS and Scopus up to December 2019, using relevant keywords. Overall, 14 studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis.
RESULTS: The total sample size of all selected studies was 399,550 individuals with age range of 6 to ≥65 years old. We found a significant positive association between skipping breakfast and Odds Ratio (OR) of depression (pooled OR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.34-1.44), stress (pooled OR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.04-1.43) and psychological distress (pooled OR: 1.55; 95% CI: 1.47-1.62). In contrast, there was no significant association between skipping breakfast and anxiety in all age cohort (pooled OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 0.97-1.65). However, subgroup analysis based on age stratification showed that there was a significant positive association between skipping breakfast and anxiety in adolescences (pooled OR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.25-1.77).
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, skipping breakfast was positively associated with odds of depression, stress and psychological distress in all age groups and anxiety in adolescence, underlining impact of breakfast on mental health.

Matched MeSH terms: Child
Ten-year trend in prevalence and outcome of Down syndrome with congenital heart disease in a middle-income country

Zahari N, Mat Bah MN, A Razak H, Thong MK

Eur J Pediatr, 2019 Aug;178(8):1267-1274.
PMID: 31222391 DOI: 10.1007/s00431-019-03403-x

Limited data are available on the survival of patients with Down syndrome and congenital heart disease (CHD) from middle-income countries. This retrospective cohort study was performed to determine the trends in the prevalence and survival of such patients born from January 2006 to December 2015 in Malaysia. Among 754 patients with Down syndrome, 414 (55%) had CHD, and no significant trend was observed during the 10 years. Of these 414 patients, 30% had lesions that closed spontaneously, 35% underwent surgery/intervention, 9% died before surgery/intervention, and 10% were treated with comfort care. The overall mortality rate was 23%, the median age at death was 7.6 months, and no significant changes occurred over time. The early and late post-surgery/intervention mortality rates were 0.7% and 9.0%, respectively. Most deaths were of non-cardiac causes. The overall 1-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates were 85.5%, 74.6%, and 72.9%, respectively. Patients with severe lesions, persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn, atrioventricular septal defect, and pulmonary hypertension had low survival at 1 year of age.Conclusion: The prevalence of CHD in patients with Down syndrome is similar between Malaysia and high-income countries. The lower survival rate is attributed to limited expertise and resources which limit timely surgery. What is Known: • The survival of patients with Down syndrome with congenital heart disease (CHD) has improved in high-income countries. However, little is known about the survival of patients with Down syndrome with CHD from middle-income countries. • In the Caucasian population, atrioventricular septal defect is the most common type of CHD associated with Down syndrome. What is New: • In middle-income countries, the prevalence of CHD is the same as in high-income countries, but with a lower survival rate. • In the Asian population, ventricular septal defect is the most common type of CHD in patients with Down syndrome.

Matched MeSH terms: Child; Child, Preschool
Fulltext Non-Synonymous Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms and Physical Activity Interactions on Adiposity Parameters in Malaysian Adolescents

Zaharan NL, Muhamad NH, Jalaludin MY, Su TT, Mohamed Z, Mohamed MNA, et al.

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne), 2018;9:209.
PMID: 29755414 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00209

Background: Several non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) have been shown to be associated with obesity. Little is known about their associations and interactions with physical activity (PA) in relation to adiposity parameters among adolescents in Malaysia.
Methods: We examined whether (a) PA and (b) selected nsSNPs are associated with adiposity parameters and whether PA interacts with these nsSNPs on these outcomes in adolescents from the Malaysian Health and Adolescents Longitudinal Research Team study (n = 1,151). Body mass indices, waist-hip ratio, and percentage body fat (% BF) were obtained. PA was assessed using Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C). Five nsSNPs were included: beta-3 adrenergic receptor (ADRB3) rs4994, FABP2 rs1799883, GHRL rs696217, MC3R rs3827103, and vitamin D receptor rs2228570, individually and as combined genetic risk score (GRS). Associations and interactions between nsSNPs and PAQ-C scores were examined using generalized linear model.
Results: PAQ-C scores were associated with % BF (β = -0.44 [95% confidence interval -0.72, -0.16], p = 0.002). The CC genotype of ADRB3 rs4994 (β = -0.16 [-0.28, -0.05], corrected p = 0.01) and AA genotype of MC3R rs3827103 (β = -0.06 [-0.12, -0.00], p = 0.02) were significantly associated with % BF compared to TT and GG genotypes, respectively. Significant interactions with PA were found between ADRB3 rs4994 (β = -0.05 [-0.10, -0.01], p = 0.02) and combined GRS (β = -0.03 [-0.04, -0.01], p = 0.01) for % BF.
Conclusion: Higher PA score was associated with reduced % BF in Malaysian adolescents. Of the nsSNPs, ADRB3 rs4994 and MC3R rs3827103 were associated with % BF. Significant interactions with PA were found for ADRB3 rs4994 and combined GRS on % BF but not on measurements of weight or circumferences. Targeting body fat represent prospects for molecular studies and lifestyle intervention in this population.

Matched MeSH terms: Child
Fulltext Dietary habits and dental caries occurrence among young children: does the relationships still exist?

Zahara, A.M., Nur Ili, M.T., Yahya, N.A.

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2013;9(1):9-20.
MyJurnal

The role of diet in the aetiology of dental caries occurrence has been questioned recently. Aim: This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the relationship between dietary habits and dental caries among 105 children aged 2 to 5 years old in Kuala Lumpur. Methodology: Subjects were selected using convenient sampling method. Their body weight and height were measured and their dental check-up was performed by qualified dental nurses. A Structured questionnaire and 3-day food diaries were distributed to their parents/caretakers to obtain socio-demographic data, oral health practice and dietary habits of the subjects. The dft (decayed, filled teeth) score was used to describe dental caries incidence. Results: Caries was found in 36.6% subjects with mean dft score of 1.95±3.59 (range: 0-16). Energy (r=-0.334, p=0.008), carbohydrate (r=-0.353, p=0.005), fat (r=-0.325, p=0.01), protein (r=-0.264, p=0.038), and calcium (r=-0.470, p

Matched MeSH terms: Child
Fulltext Videolaryngoscope-assisted fibreoptic tracheal intubation in a young adolescent with hunter syndrome for posterior cervical fusion

Zabir, A.F., Frawley, G., Squire, P.

Journal of Surgical Academia, 2013;3(2):92-96.
MyJurnal

We here describe a videolaryngoscope assisted fibreoptic tracheal intubation in a 17-year-old patient with Hunter Syndrome (Mucopolysaccharidosis Type II) and known difficult intubation who required posterior cervical fusion surgery for cervical canal stenosis. The patient had a history of failed nasal and oral fibreoptic intubation. The use of a videolaryngoscope enabled continuous visualization of the tracheal inlet and allowed a straightforward nasal fibreoptic intubation attempt without complications. This report suggests a viable alternative for the management of a known difficult airway in children with mucopolysaccharidosis.

Matched MeSH terms: Child
Learning disabilities in children

Zabidi Azhar Mohd. Hussin

Malaysian Journal of Child Health, 1998;10(1):9-18.
MyJurnal

Learning disability occurs in 10-15% of children. It is manifested by an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, calculate or interact. It may be specific as in dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia or nonspecific learning disability. In the latter group, there may be under-achievement despite average or above-average-intelligence, slow learners and mental retardation. Factors that may cause learning disability include genetic abnormalities, antenatal and perinatal insults, abnormal growth and malnutrition in early childhood, parental mode of upbringing, poor opportunity for learning, physical illness and emotional and social problems. Meticulous history taking and physical examination is important to arrive at a proper diagnosis so that the most appropriate management is given, often involving professionals working as a team.

Matched MeSH terms: Child; Child, Preschool
Fulltext Unheard voices : womens’ inner experiences during the Johore flood

Zabedah, B., Badrul Hisham, A.S.

Malaysian Journal of Community Health, 2009;15(3):98-103.
MyJurnal

Introduction : Human displacement during disaster would cause women and their dependent children to be particularly vulnerable. Yet, women failed to make their voices heard. Thus their needs, priorities and perceptions would not be identified which in turn could hinder an effective emergency response and a full recovery process.
Objective : This paper provides a general overview of problems and issues experienced by women and their dependent children during the Johore flood disaster. With this information, relevant agencies shall focus, among other considerations, on the special needs of women and children in planning and carrying out emergency responses in the future.
Methodology : This paper was written based on data and information obtained from the Johore Flood Disaster Report and observations made by the health teams on the flood victims throughout the flood period.
Findings and Discussions : Pregnant mothers with 36 weeks of gestation or more were evacuated from their homes to the health centres or hospitals when the Johore flood disaster struck. Regular maternal and child health (MCH) services were conducted at the flood relief centres. Despite the efforts by health care providers, we observed women facing some unique issues and problems. These include: 1) Effects of loss of security and protection; 2) Disruption of social relations and privacy; 3) Inadequate supply of basic items and; and 4) Economic disruption. Recommendations for future relief work are: i) Predisaster planning for emergency response must engage and involve women representatives. Women must also be recruited as emergency and relief workers; ii) Assessment of predetermined capacity of identified relief centres with gender consideration for evacuees must be done; iii) All relief centres shall have physical partition between families. Breast feeding room with access to clean water should also be provided; iv) Gender, cultural and religious sensitivity with regards to social protection and relations shall be observed at all times; v) Women should engage and be made occupied with suitable activities to encourage healthy social interaction thus avoiding feelings of boredom and helplessness; vi) Basic personal items for women and adolescent girls, such as sanitary towel and undergarments, and places to wash and hang them in privacy must be provided; vii) Elderly women may have to temporarily stay at unaffected relatives’ or old folk homes throughout the disaster period, and; viii) No smoking policy shall be enforced at all times in flood relief centres.
Conclusion : Women and their dependent children have been recognised as one of the vulnerable groups during disasters. Thus, women shall be empowered as partners in formulating any emergency response plan so that together they would be able to complement all disaster mitigation, relief and recovery efforts in amore effective manner.

Matched MeSH terms: Child Health; Child
Profile of solvent abusers (glue sniffers) in East Malaysia

Zabedah MY, Razak M, Zakiah I, Zuraidah AB

Malays J Pathol, 2001 Dec;23(2):105-9.
PMID: 12166590

Solvent abuse is deliberate sniffing of an organic solvent for the intention of altering the physiological state of the individual. It is also commonly known as glue sniffing because glue is the most commonly abused substance. This form of substance abuse is widespread throughout the world and usually popular among secondary school children and young adults because of its easy availability and it is cheaper compared with most drugs of abuse. In Malaysia this problem has been recognized especially among the children in East Malaysia. In this study, 37 children and young adults from or around Kota Kinabalu, Sabah were referred to Bukit Padang Psychiatric Hospital by the Anti-drug Task force for suspected solvent abuse. These children were interviewed using questionaire and examined physically. Blood and urine were analysed for toluene and hippuric acid. 27 of the children, age ranging between 8 and 20 years, willingly admitted to sniffing glue for a period between a few months to 2 years. Most of them were children of Fillipino illegal immigrants in Kota Kinabalu. Biochemical parameters were found to be normal. Two of them were pale with low hemoglobin and 7 had eosinophilia. Haematuria and proteinuria were found in 21 children (78%). 16 blood samples with toluene levels ranging from 0.3 to 41 microg/ml and 10 urine samples have elevated urinary hippuric acid levels ranging from 1.2 to 7.4 mg/ml. Strong positive correlation was noted between mean blood toluene levels and duration of abuse.

Matched MeSH terms: Child
Fulltext Every child needs a family

Yuzila Md Yusof

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(104):5-5.
MyJurnal

Introduction: According to PDRM statistic, in average, 100 babies are dumped every year, in Malaysia. The stig-ma of having babies out of wedlock, feeling of desperation and lack of support are some reasons why babies were dumped at the unimaginable places. Even if they were found and saved, these babies will be placed and raised at institutions. This will lead to the negative effects of institutionalisation as they do not receive appropriate adult care and attention which is crucial in developing their potential. OrphanCare Foundation advocates and provides services that ensure babies and children who are in institutions and those whose lives are at risk grow up in the care of a loving family. Methods: OrpahnCare Foundation provides a safe haven for babies that are being abandoned through baby hatch centres, finding a family for these babies through a legal adoption programme, and deinstitutionalisation (DI) i.e. removing all children currently in institutions, to family based care. Results: Since 2010, OrphanCare Foun-dation has saved a total of 369 babies and successfully arranged for the adoption of 221 babies. Forty even children were taken out from institutions and brought home to their families. Conclusion: The best place for a child to grow up is in the love and care of a family. They will receive personalised guidance, support and love that they need to develop to their full potential.

Matched MeSH terms: Child
Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal in Urban Surface Soil (Klang District, Malaysia)

Yuswir NS, Praveena SM, Aris AZ, Ismail SN, Hashim Z

Bull Environ Contam Toxicol, 2015 Jul;95(1):80-9.
PMID: 25904089 DOI: 10.1007/s00128-015-1544-2

Urban environmental quality is vital to be investigated as the majority of people live in cities. However, given the continuous urbanization and industrialization in urban areas, heavy metals are continuously emitted into the terrestrial environment and pose a great threat to human. In this study, a total of 76 urban surface soil samples were collected in the Klang district (Malaysia), and analyzed for total and bioavailable heavy metal concentrations by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Results showed that the concentrations of bioavailable heavy metals declined in the order of Al, Fe, Zn, Cu, Co, Cd, Pb, and Cr, and the concentrations of total heavy metals declined in the order of Fe, Al, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Co, and Cd. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that heavy metals could be grouped into three principal components, with PC1 containing Al and Fe, PC2 comprising Cd, Co, Cr, and Cu, and PC3 with only Zn. PCA results showed that PC1 may originate from natural sources, whereas PC2 and PC3 most likely originated from anthropogenic sources. Health risk assessment indicated that heavy metal contamination in the Klang district was below the acceptable threshold for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks in adults, but above the acceptable threshold for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks in children.

Matched MeSH terms: Child
Breastfeeding and postnatal depression: a prospective cohort study in Sabah, Malaysia

Yusuff AS, Tang L, Binns CW, Lee AH

J Hum Lact, 2016 May;32(2):277-81.
PMID: 26644418 DOI: 10.1177/0890334415620788

BACKGROUND: Postnatal depression is a disorder that can lead to serious consequences for both the mother and infant. Despite the extensively documented health benefits of breastfeeding, its association with postnatal depression remains uncertain.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between full breastfeeding at 3 months postpartum and postnatal depressive symptoms among mothers in Sabah, Malaysia.
METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 2072 women was conducted in Sabah during 2009-2010. Participants were recruited at 36 to 38 weeks of gestation and followed up at 1 and 3 months postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the validated Malay version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Repeated-measures analyses of variance was performed to compare the depression scores over time and between subgroups of breastfeeding mothers.
RESULTS: Approximately 46% of women were fully breastfeeding their infants at 3 months postpartum. These mothers had significantly (P < .001) lower mean EPDS scores at both 1 and 3 months postpartum (mean ± SD, 4.14 ± 4.12 and 4.27 ± 4.12, respectively) than others who did not initiate or maintain full breastfeeding for 3 months (4.94 ± 4.34 and 5.25 ± 4.05, respectively). After controlling for the effects of covariates, the differences in EPDS scores remained statistically significant (P = .001) between the 2 breastfeeding groups.
CONCLUSION: Full breastfeeding appeared to be negatively associated with postnatal depressive symptoms for mothers residing in Sabah.
Study site: 5 maternal and child health clinics in Kota Kinabalu and Penampang Districts of Sabah, Malaysia

Matched MeSH terms: Maternal-Child Health Centers
Fulltext Factors influencing childhood anaemia in Bangladesh: a two level logistic regression analysis

Yusuf A, Mamun ASMA, Kamruzzaman M, Saw A, Abo El-Fetoh NM, Lestrel PE, et al.

BMC Pediatr, 2019 06 29;19(1):213.
PMID: 31255172 DOI: 10.1186/s12887-019-1581-9

BACKGROUND: Anemia is not only a major public health problem among children in developing countries, it is also an important predictor for their future growth and development. The objective of this study was to identify possible factors associated with anemia among pre-school children in Bangladesh after removing a cluster effect of the population, and to determine the prevalence of this condition.
METHODS: Data for this study was extracted from the 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS-2011). In this survey, data was collected using a two-stage stratified cluster sampling approach. The chi-square test and a two-level logistic regression model were used for further analysis.
RESULTS: Data from 2231 children aged 6-59 months were included for analysis. The prevalence of child anemia was noted to be 52.10%. Among these anemic children, 48.40% where from urban environment and 53.90% were from rural areas. The prevalence of mild, moderate and severe anemia among children was 57.10, 41.40 and 1.50% respectively. The two-level logistic regression model revealed that the following factors were associated with childhood anemia: children of anemic mothers (p

Matched MeSH terms: Child, Preschool
High prevalence of Southeast Asian ovalocytosis in Malays with distal renal tubular acidosis

Yusoff NM, Van Rostenberghe H, Shirakawa T, Nishiyama K, Amin N, Darus Z, et al.

J Hum Genet, 2003;48(12):650-653.
PMID: 14618420 DOI: 10.1007/s10038-003-0095-2

Southeast Asian ovalocytosis (SAO) is a red blood cell abnormality common in malaria-endemic regions and caused by a 27 nt deletion of the band 3 protein gene. Since band 3 protein, also known as anion exchanger 1, is expressed in renal distal tubules, the incidence of SAO was examined in distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) in Malays in Kelantan, Malaysia. Twenty-two patients with dRTA and 50 healthy volunteers were examined for complication of SAO by both morphological and genetic analyses. SAO was identified in 18 of the 22 dRTA patients (81.8%), but only two of the 50 controls (4%). The incidence of SAO was significantly high in those with dRTA (p<0.001), indicating a dysfunctional role for band 3 protein/anion exchanger 1 in the development of dRTA.

Matched MeSH terms: Child; Child, Preschool

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