METHODS: A life table model was constructed using published Malaysian demographic and mortality data. Our analysis was limited to male smokers due to the low smoking prevalence in females (1.1%). Male smokers aged 15-64 years were followed up until 65 years or until death. The population attributable risk, health-related quality of life decrements and relative reduction in productivity due to smoking were sourced from published data. The analysis was repeated assuming the cohorts were never smokers, and the differences in outcomes represented the health and productivity burden conferred by smoking. The cost of productivity loss was estimated based on the gross domestic product per equivalent full-time worker in Malaysia.

RESULTS: Tobacco use is highly prevalent among working-age males in Malaysia, with 4.2 million (37.5%) daily smokers among men aged between 15 and 64 years. Overall, our model estimated that smoking resulted in the loss of over 2.1 million life years (2.9%), 5.5 million (8.2%) quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and 3.0 million (4.8%) PALYs. Smoking was estimated to incur RM275.3 billion (US$69.4 billion) in loss of productivity.

AIMS: To determine levels of work engagement and to identify psychological and work-related characteristics predicting work engagement in employees in Malaysia.

METHODS: We recruited 5235 employees from 47 public and private organizations in Malaysia who responded to an online health survey. We assessed work engagement with the 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) and psychological distress using the 6-item Kessler scale. We performed multiple linear regression to determine predictors of work engagement.

RESULTS: Employee mean age was 33.8 years (standard deviation [SD] ± 8.8). The mean work engagement score on the UWES-9 was 3.53 (SD ± 0.94). Eleven of 18 variables on multiple regression predicted work engagement, F(18, 4925) = 69.02, P < 0.001, R2 = 0.201. Factors that predicted higher work engagement were age, marital status, education level, job type, job permanency, longer sleep duration, lower psychological distress and no history of workplace bullying.

METHODS: The study was conducted among 1010 women who were registered as migrant returnees at an organisation called Pourakhi Nepal. Secondary data were extracted from the records of the organisation covering the five-year period of July 2009 to July 2014.

RESULTS: The 1010 participants were aged 14 to 51 with a median age of 31 (IQR: 38-25) years. A quarter of respondents (24%) reported having experienced health problems while in the country of employment. Fever, severe illness and accidents were the most common health problems reported. Working for unlimited periods of time and not being able to change one's place of work were independently associated with a greater likelihood of health problems. Logistic regression shows that migrant women who are illiterate [OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.02 to 2.38, p = 0.042], who had changed their workplace [OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.14 to 2.32, p = 0.007], who worked unlimited periods of time [OR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.44 to 1.93, p = 0.020], had been severely maltreated or tortured in the workplace [OR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.15 to 2.92, p = 0.010], were not being paid on time [OR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.60 to 3.55, p = 0.038] and migrant women who had family problems at home [OR = 3.48, CI 95%: 1.22 to 9.98, p = 0.020] were significantly associated with health problems in their host country in the Middle East.

METHODS: A baseline cross-sectional analysis of the Malaysian Cohort was conducted, which included 105 391 adults. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted for these three diseases across 20 job sectors compared with the unemployed/homemaker sector.

RESULTS: The prevalence of T2DM, hypercholesterolemia and obesity was 16.7%, 38.8% and 33.3%, respectively. The Accommodation & Food Service Activities and Transportation & Storage sectors had significantly higher odds for T2DM (adjusted [adj.] prevalence odds ratio [POR] 1.18, p=0.007 and adj. POR 1.15, p=0.008, respectively). No job sector had significantly higher odds for hypercholesterolemia compared with the unemployed/homemaker sector. Only the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector had significantly higher odds for obesity (adj. POR 1.17, p≤0.001).

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 660 public hospital nurses. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the occurrence of WRMSDs according to body regions, socio-demographic profiles, occupational information and psychosocial risk factors. 468 questionnaires were returned (response rate of 71%), and 376 questionnaires qualified for subsequent analysis. Univariate analyses were applied to test for mean and categorical differences across the WRMSDs; multiple logistic regression was applied to predict WRMSDs based on the Job Strain Model's psychosocial risk factors.