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Fulltext Medical students' experience of and reaction to stress: the role of depression and anxiety

Saravanan C, Wilks R

ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:737382.
PMID: 24688425 DOI: 10.1155/2014/737382

Medical school is recognized as a stressful environment that often has a negative effect on students' academic performance, physical health, and psychosocial well-being. Previous studies have not identified differences between depressed and nondepressed and anxious and nonanxious medical students' experiences of stress or their reactions to stressors. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence of depression and anxiety among a sample of 358 medical students attending a private university in Malaysia and to examine differences according to participants' gender, year of study, and stage of training (preclinical and clinical). Additionally, this study examined the extent to which stress predicts depression and anxiety, differences between depressed and nondepressed medical students' experiences of and reactions to stressors, and differences between anxious and nonanxious medical students' experiences of and reactions to stressors.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Fulltext Social embeddedness as a mechanism for linking social cohesion to well-being among older adults: moderating effect of gender

Momtaz YA, Haron SA, Ibrahim R, Hamid TA

Clin Interv Aging, 2014;9:863-70.
PMID: 24904206 DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S62205

BACKGROUND: The positive effect of social cohesion on well-being in older adults has been well documented. However, relatively few studies have attempted to understand the mechanisms by which social cohesion influences well-being. The main aim of the current study is to identify social pathways in which social cohesion may contribute to well-being.
METHODS: The data for this study (taken from 1,880 older adults, aged 60 years and older) were drawn from a national survey conducted during 2008-2009. The survey employed a two-stage stratified sampling process for data collection. Structural equation modeling was used to test mediating and moderating analyses.
RESULTS: The proposed model documented a good fit to the data (GFI =98; CFI =0.99; RMSEA =0.04). The findings from bootstrap analysis and the Sobel test revealed that the impact of social cohesion on well-being is significantly mediated by social embeddedness (Z=5.62; P<0.001). Finally, the results of a multigroup analysis test showed that social cohesion influences well-being through the social embeddedness mechanism somewhat differently for older men than women.
CONCLUSION: The findings of this study, in addition to supporting the importance of neighborhood social cohesion for the well-being of older adults, also provide evidence that the impact of social cohesion towards well-being is mediated through the mechanism of social embeddedness.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Predictors of handgrip strength among adults of a rural community in Malaysia

Moy FM, Darus A, Hairi NN

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2015 Mar;27(2):176-84.
PMID: 24285778 DOI: 10.1177/1010539513510555

Handgrip strength is useful for screening the nutritional status of adult population as it is strongly associated with physical disabilities and mortality. Therefore, we aimed to determine the predictors of handgrip strength among adults of a rural community in Malaysia using a cross-sectional study design with multistage sampling. All adults aged 30 years and older from 1250 households were invited to our study. Structured questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, occupation history, lifestyle practices, and measurements, including anthropometry and handgrip strength were taken. There were 2199 respondents with 55.2% females and majority were of Malay ethnicity. Their mean (standard deviation) age was 53.4 (13.2) years. The response rate for handgrip strength was 94.2%. Females had significantly lower handgrip strength than males (P < .05). In the multiple linear regression models, significant predictors of handgrip strength for males were age, height, job groups, and diabetes, while for females, the significant predictors were age, weight, height, and diabetes.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Fulltext Cardiovascular disease risk factors and socioeconomic variables in a nation undergoing epidemiologic transition

Rasiah R, Yusoff K, Mohammadreza A, Manikam R, Tumin M, Chandrasekaran SK, et al.

BMC Public Health, 2013;13:886.
PMID: 24066906 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-886

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) related deaths is not only the prime cause of mortality in the world, it has also continued to increase in the low and middle income countries. Hence, this study examines the relationship between CVD risk factors and socioeconomic variables in Malaysia, which is a rapidly growing middle income nation undergoing epidemiologic transition.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Body mass index (BMI)-for-age and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among high school students in Tehran

Jalali-Farahani S, Chin YS, Amiri P, Mohd Taib MN

Child Care Health Dev, 2014 Sep;40(5):731-9.
PMID: 23952615 DOI: 10.1111/cch.12103

The study aimed to determine the association between body mass index (BMI)-for-age and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among high school students in Tehran.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Fulltext Tobacco smoking and its association with illicit drug use among young men aged 15-24 years living in urban slums of Bangladesh

Kabir MA, Goh KL, Kamal SM, Khan MM

PLoS One, 2013;8(7):e68728.
PMID: 23935885 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068728

Tobacco smoking (TS) and illicit drug use (IDU) are of public health concerns especially in developing countries, including Bangladesh. This paper aims to (i) identify the determinants of TS and IDU, and (ii) examine the association of TS with IDU among young slum dwellers in Bangladesh.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Pattern of suicides in 2009: data from the National Suicide Registry Malaysia

Ali NH, Zainun KA, Bahar N, Haniff J, Hamid AM, Bujang MA, et al.

Asia Pac Psychiatry, 2014 Jun;6(2):217-25.
PMID: 23857761 DOI: 10.1111/j.1758-5872.2012.00227.x

The National Suicide Registry Malaysia (NSRM) is a nationwide system that captures data on completed suicides in Malaysia from all forensic departments under the purview of the Ministry of Health Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Oppositional Defiant Disorder: prevalence based on parent and teacher ratings of Malaysian primary school children

Gomez R, Hafetz N, Gomez RM

Asian J Psychiatr, 2013 Aug;6(4):299-302.
PMID: 23810136 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2013.01.008

BACKGROUND: This study examined the prevalence rate of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in Malaysian primary school children.
METHODS: In all 934 Malaysian parents and teachers completed ratings of their children using a scale comprising DSM-IV-TR ODD symptoms.
RESULTS: Results showed rates of 3.10%, 3.85%, 7.49% and 0.64% for parent, teacher, parent or teacher ("or-rule"), and parent and teacher ("and-rule") ratings, respectively. When the functional impairment criterion was not considered, the rate reported by parents was higher at 13.28%.
DISCUSSION: The theoretical, diagnostic and cultural implications of the findings are discussed

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Racial and socioeconomic disparities in sexual activity among older married Malaysians

Momtaz YA, Hamid TA, Ibrahim R, Akahbar SA

Arch Gerontol Geriatr, 2014 Jan-Feb;58(1):51-5.
PMID: 24021247 DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2013.08.003

Sexuality as an important part of life has not been well studied in Malaysia, particularly among older adults. The main aim of this study was to investigate the racial and socioeconomic differences in sexual activity among older married Malaysians. Data for this study consisting of 1036 older married adults aged 60 years and older were obtained from the nationwide community-based cross-sectional survey entitled "Determinants of Wellness among Older Malaysian: A Health Promotion Perspective", conducted in 2010. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 for Windows. The results showed that 57.3% (95% CI: 54.3-60.3) of the respondents (61.6% of men and 50.6% of women) had engaged in sexual intercourse during the last 12 months. The adjusted multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that ethnicity and educational attainment were independently and significantly associated with sexual activity, after controlling for the possible confounding effects of chronic medical conditions and demographic characteristics. The findings from this study do support the notion that sexuality is a lifelong need and cultural teachings and formal education may have important role in maintaining the quality of sexuality in later life.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Fulltext Overweight among primary school-age children in Malaysia

Naidu BM, Mahmud SZ, Ambak R, Sallehuddin SM, Mutalip HA, Saari R, et al.

Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2013;22(3):408-15.
PMID: 23945411 DOI: 10.6133/apjcn.2013.22.3.18

This study is a secondary data analysis from the National Health Morbidity Survey III, a population-based study conducted in 2006. A total of 7,749 children between 7 and 12 years old were recruited into the study. This study seeks to report the prevalence of overweight (including obesity) children in Malaysia using international cut-off point and identify its associated key social determinants. The results show that the overall prevalence of overweight children in Malaysia was 19.9%. The urban residents, males, Chinese, those who are wealthy, have overweight or educated guardians showed higher prevalence of overweight. In multivariable analysis, higher likelihood of being overweight was observed among those with advancing age (OR=1.15), urban residents (OR=1.16, 95% CI: 1.01-1.36), the Chinese (OR=1.45, 95% CI: 1.19-1.77), boys (OR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.08-1.41), and those who came from higher income family. In conclusion, one out of five of 7-12 year-old-children in Malaysia were overweight. Locality of residence, ethnicity, gender, guardian education, and overweight guardian were likely to be the predictors of this alarming issue. Societal and public health efforts are needed in order to reduce the burden of disease associated with obesity.
Study name: National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS-2006)

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Psychometric properties of the self-report Malay version of the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQLTM) 4.0 Generic Core Scales among multiethnic Malaysian adolescents

Ainuddin HA, Loh SY, Chinna K, Low WY, Roslani AC

J Child Health Care, 2015 Jun;19(2):229-38.
PMID: 24154841 DOI: 10.1177/1367493513504834

Adolescence is the potential period for growth and optimal functioning, but developmental issues like time of transition from childhood to adulthood will create stress and affect the adolescent's quality of life (QOL). However, there is a lack of research tool for measuring adolescent's QOL in Malaysia. The aim of the study was to determine the validity and reliability of the self-report Malay version of the pediatric QOL (PedsQL™) 4.0 Generic Core Scales in assessing the QOL of Malaysian adolescents. A cross-sectional study design using the 23-item self-report Malay version of the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales was administered on a convenient cluster sampling (n = 297 adolescent) from a secondary school. The internal consistency reliability had Cronbach's α values ranging from .70 to .89. Factor analysis reported a six-factor structure via principal axis factor analysis. In conclusion, the self-report Malay version of the pediatric QOL 4.0 Generic Core Scales is a reliable and valid tool to measure the QOL of multiethnic Malaysian adolescents.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Prescribing of antidiabetic therapies in Ireland: 10-year trends 2003-2012

Zaharan NL, Williams D, Bennett K

Ir J Med Sci, 2014 Jun;183(2):311-8.
PMID: 24013870 DOI: 10.1007/s11845-013-1011-1

BACKGROUND: Over the last decade there have been significant changes in the prescribing of antidiabetic therapies. It is of interest to know about these trends and variations in the Irish population so that future prescribing patterns can be estimated.
AIMS: To examine the trends in prescribed antidiabetic treatments, including variations across age, gender, socioeconomic status and regions in the Irish population over the last 10 years.
METHODS: The Irish national pharmacy claims database was used to identify patients ≥ 16 years dispensed antidiabetic agents (oral or insulin) from January 2003 to December 2012 through the two main community drug schemes for diabetes. The rate of prescribing per 1,000 population was calculated. Logistic regression was used to examine variations in prescribing in patients with diabetes.
RESULTS: There was a significant increase in the prescribing of fast and long-acting insulin analogues with a rapid decline in the prescribing of human insulin (p < 0.0001). Increased prescribing of metformin, incretin modulators and fixed oral combination agents was observed (p < 0.0001). Females and older aged patients were more likely to be prescribed human insulin than other insulins. Metformin was less likely while sulphonylureas were more likely to be prescribed in older than younger aged patients. Socioeconomic differences were observed in increased prescribing of the newer and more expensive antidiabetic agents in the non-means tested scheme. Regional variations were observed in the prescribing of both insulin and oral antidiabetic agents.
CONCLUSION: There has been an increase over time in the prescribing of both insulin and oral antidiabetic agents in the Irish population with increasing uptake of newer antidiabetic agents. This has implications for projecting future uptake and expenditure of these agents given the rising level of diabetes in the population.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Identifying factors associated with diagnostic concordance/discordance in oral lichen planus

Siar CH, Lim JS, Tang SP, Chia HS, Loh YM, Ng KH

J Oral Maxillofac Surg, 2013 Oct;71(10):1688-93.
PMID: 23773425 DOI: 10.1016/j.joms.2013.04.026

To identify factors associated with concordance and discordance between clinical and histopathologic diagnoses of oral lichen planus lesions.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Fulltext Review of Dengue hemorrhagic fever fatal cases seen among adults: a retrospective study

Sam SS, Omar SF, Teoh BT, Abd-Jamil J, AbuBakar S

PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2013;7(5):e2194.
PMID: 23658849 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002194

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease endemic in many countries in the tropics and sub-tropics. The disease affects mainly children, but in recent years it is becoming more of an adult disease. Malaysia experienced a large dengue outbreak in 2006 to 2007, involving mostly adults, with a high number of deaths.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
A cross-cultural comparison of autistic traits in the UK, India and Malaysia

Freeth M, Sheppard E, Ramachandran R, Milne E

J Autism Dev Disord, 2013 Nov;43(11):2569-83.
PMID: 23494561 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-013-1808-9

The disorder of autism is widely recognised throughout the world. However, the diagnostic criteria and theories of autism are based on research predominantly conducted in Western cultures. Here we compare the expression of autistic traits in a sample of neurotypical individuals from one Western culture (UK) and two Eastern cultures (India and Malaysia), using the Autism-spectrum Quotient (AQ) in order to identify possible cultural differences in the expression of autistic traits. Behaviours associated with autistic traits were reported to a greater extent in the Eastern cultures than the Western culture. Males scored higher than females and science students scored higher than non-science students in each culture. Indian students scored higher than both other groups on the Imagination sub-scale, Malaysian students scored higher than both other groups on the Attention Switching sub-scale. The underlying factor structures of the AQ for each population were derived and discussed.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Fulltext Association between occupational stress and respiratory symptoms among lecturers in Universiti Putra Malaysia

Nur Aqilah MY, Juliana J

Glob J Health Sci, 2012 Nov;4(6):160-9.
PMID: 23121752 DOI: 10.5539/gjhs.v4n6p160

There was considerable evidence that a subject's psychological status may influence respiratory sensations and that some subjects may experience respiratory symptoms regardless of the presence of a respiratory disease. The objective of this study was to determine the association between occupational stress and respiratory symptoms among lecturers. This cross sectional study was conducted in Universiti Putra Malaysia, involved 61 lecturers from various faculties. Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and questionnaires based on American Thoracic Society were used to collect the data on socio-demography, stress level and respiratory symptoms. High level of occupational stress (high strain) was determined among 16 of the respondents (26.2%). Breathlessness was the common symptom experienced by the respondents. Female lecturers were significantly experienced high stress level compared to male (p=0.035). They were also significantly having more breathlessness symptom compared to male lecturer (p=0.011). Study highlighted in study population, gender plays a significant role that influenced level of occupational stress and also gender has role in resulting occupational stress level and respiratory symptoms. There was no significant association between occupational stress and respiratory symptoms. It can be concluded that this group of lecturers of Universiti Putra Malaysia did not experienced high occupational stress level. Occupational stress level was not statistically significantly associated with all respiratory symptoms being studied.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Fulltext Prevalence of sleep disordered breathing symptoms among Malay school children in a primary school in Malaysia

Fadzil Abdullah AA, Jamalludin AR, Norrashidah AW, Norzila MZ, Asiah Kassim K, Rus Anida A, et al.

Med J Malaysia, 2012 Apr;67(2):181-5.
PMID: 22822640 MyJurnal

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is increasingly being diagnosed in children. However, there is no prevalence study done in Malaysia. The study objective was to evaluate the prevalence of SDB symptoms based on parental reports and associated risk factors among Malay school children aged 6 to 10 years old in a primary school using a translated University Michigan Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire (Malay UM-PSQ). The children whose parents responded to the questionnaire and consented were examined, documenting height, weight, skin fold thickness, neck and abdominal circumference, tonsillar size, nostril examination and presence of micrognathia or retrognathia. There were 550 respondents. The prevalence of parental report of SDB symptoms was 14.9 % (95 % CI 11.9, 17.9). Two hundred and eighty-five (51.8%) school children were males with mean age of 8.5 years (SD 1.1). The associated risk factors for SDB symptoms are male, obesity, large neck and waist circumference, positive history of asthma, history of recurrent tonsillitis, enlarged tonsil (> 4+) and enlarged nasal turbinate. Multivariate analysis showed that male gender is the only significant independent risk factor of SDB symptoms

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Unmet needs among disabled elderly Malaysians

Momtaz YA, Hamid TA, Ibrahim R

Soc Sci Med, 2012 Sep;75(5):859-63.
PMID: 22632847 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.03.047

Unmet need as a significant factor affecting quality of life in later life has recently received considerable attention in gerontological research. The main aim of this study was to identify the prevalence, predicting factors, and negative consequence of unmet need among older Malaysians. The findings may be useful to reduce unmet need and the burden of its adverse consequence. The sample for this study consists of 400 functionally disabled elderly people aged 60 and over was obtained from a large national survey. Unmet need was operationally defined based on Manton's (1989) criteria. The findings from the present study showed about 18.0% of functionally disabled older Malaysians suffer from unmet need. Logistic regression revealed that gender (being male) and chronic health conditions are statistically associated with increased odds of unmet need after adjusting for other possible risk factors. Further results indicated that unmet need statistically increases odds of fall as a negative consequence of unmet need. The high prevalence rates of unmet need among disabled elderly men and chronically ill older persons suggest that policy makers should pay more attention to this vulnerable group to achieve good quality of life. The implications and limitations of the present study are discussed.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
Consumption of fruits and vegetables in Malaysia: profiling the daily and nondaily consumers

Yen ST, Tan AK, Feisul MI

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2015 Mar;27(2):NP2635-50.
PMID: 23007483 DOI: 10.1177/1010539512458523

This study examines the sociodemographic factors associated with daily fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption in Malaysia. Based on a cross-sectional sample of 2447 individuals from the Malaysia Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance-1, a multivariate sample selection system is developed and estimated, to accommodate high frequencies of daily FV consumption and the days of servings among nondaily consumers. Results indicate that the authors' attempt to account for endogenous sample selectivity and cross-equation correlations is justified. There exist positive correlations between FV consumption likelihoods and longer work hours, higher levels of education, high income, female gender, nonsmoking status, and being from East Malaysia. Among nondaily consumers, those with longer work hours, singles, and people with diabetes are less inclined to eat fruits on more days. Overall, higher-educated, affluent people, nonsmokers, and East Malaysians display more days of FV consumption. Based on these outcomes, several policy implications are recommended vis-à-vis FV consumption patterns in Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors
The variability of lower third molar development in Northeast Malaysian population with application to age estimation

Johan NA, Khamis MF, Abdul Jamal NS, Ahmad B, Mahanani ES

J Forensic Odontostomatol, 2012 Jul;30(1):45-54.
PMID: 23000811

This study aimed to assess the variability of the lower third molar (tooth 38 and 48) development in Northeast Malaysian population with respect to the side of dentition, to generate age prediction models and to compare the outcome with other studies. A total of 1080 orthopantomograms of Northeast Malaysian population aged between 14 and 25 years (540 males and 540 females) from the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia's archive which met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected and the maturity stages of tooth 38 and 48 were scored using Demirjian's stages (A-H). The findings showed a wide variation of the development of lower third molars in the Northeast Malaysian population. The roots developed earlier in males than in females. The development of the dentition on opposite sides of the mandible was synchronously in females and males. A multiple regression analysis shows that 71.1% of variance in age was explained by sex and developmental stage of tooth 48. An age prediction model was generated from the regression analysis: [Age = 7.117 + 1.907*(stage of tooth 48) - 0.432*(sex)] with mean prediction errors between -0.17 to 3.14 years. The obtained data in the current study are useful for references and determining age of unidentified human remains for identification investigation.

Matched MeSH terms: Sex Factors

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