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  1. Baharum NN, Ariffin F, Isa MR, Tin ST
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2020 Jul 01;21(7):2021-2028.
    PMID: 32711428 DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2020.21.7.2021
    BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is preventable. In Malaysia, women are found to have good awareness of the disease and yet, the Pap smear uptake is still poor. Measuring health literacy level could explain this discrepancy. This study aims to determine the relationship between health literacy, level of knowledge of cervical cancer and Pap smear with attitude towards Pap smear among women attending pre-marital course.

    METHODS: A cross sectional study was performed in three randomly selected centres that organised pre-marital courses. All Malay Muslim women participants aged 18 to 40 years old were recruited while non-Malaysian, illiterate, and had hysterectomy were excluded. Validated self-administered questionnaires used were European Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16 Malay) and Knowledge and attitude towards Cervical Cancer and Pap Smear Questionnaire. The mean percentage score (mean± SD) was calculated, with higher scores showed better outcomes. Multiple linear regression was used to measure the relationship of independent variables with attitude towards Pap smear.

    RESULTS: A total of 417 participants were recruited with a mean age of 24.9 ± 3.56 years old. Prevalence of awareness of cervical cancer was 91.6% (n=382, 95% CI: 89.0%, 94.2%) and mean percentage score was 74.7%±7.6. Prevalence of awareness of Pap smear was 59.0% (n=246, 95% CI: 54.2%, 63.8%) and mean percentage score was 80.2% ± 6.5. The health literacy mean score was 13.3±3.6, with minimum score 0 and maximum score 16. The mean percentage score of attitudes towards Pap smear was 64.8%±9.3. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated significant relationship between health literacy (p=0.047) and knowledge of Pap smear (p<0.001) with attitude towards Pap smear.

    CONCLUSION: A higher health literacy with high knowledge of Pap smear improves the attitude towards Pap smear. Pre-marital course is an opportunistic platform to disseminate information to improve health literacy and knowledge of cervical cancer and Pap smear screening.

  2. Baharum NN, Ariffin F, Hanafiah M, Sulaiman SH
    Korean J Fam Med, 2021 Jan;42(1):84-87.
    PMID: 32447880 DOI: 10.4082/kjfm.19.0021
    Avascular necrosis, or osteonecrosis of the femoral head, is a debilitating condition which leads to the destruction of the hip joint due to an interruption in the blood supply to the bony region and is most commonly due to trauma. The case discussed here has been highlighted as it presented as non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head with an absence of risk factors in a healthy adult male. A 37-year-old male presented with a 4-month history of recurrent left hip pain, which worsened with initiation of movement and weightbearing on the affected side. The patient was overweight but normotensive with a full range of movement of the hips bilaterally. There were no abnormalities detected on initial X-ray images of the left hip. However, due to the persistent pain and sclerotic changes in a subsequent X-ray, a magnetic resonance image of the bilateral hips was obtained, leading to the diagnosis of osteonecrosis of the bilateral femoral heads. Due to the lack of improvement with physiotherapy and analgesia, the patient was subjected to conservative surgery of the symptomatic left hip with concurring evidence of avascular necrosis based on intraoperative anatomical biopsy. This case emphasizes the importance of identifying underlying issues during history taking and physical examination in adults without risk factors. The early diagnosis of osteonecrosis assists in preventing joint collapse and can delay the requirement of joint replacements. High levels of suspicion are necessary to instigate investigation in persistent cases without the presence of risk factors.
  3. Shahrir NF, Aziz NRA, Ahmad FL, Muzaid NA, Samat F, Syed Ghazaili SNA, et al.
    Malays Fam Physician, 2022 Nov 30;17(3):53-63.
    PMID: 36606172 DOI: 10.51866/oa.122
    INTRODUCTION: Microalbuminuria presents significant health risks for the progression of endstage renal-failure (ESRF) among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. This study aims to determine the proportion and associated factors of microalbuminuria among T2DM patients in Kuala Selangor district, Malaysia.

    METHOD: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2020 to February 2021 using secondary data from the National Diabetic Registry (NDR), Malaysia, and reviewed patients' diabetic records for the year 2020. All T2DM patients aged >18 years who were registered with the NDR in 2020 and fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed. Data were analysed using SPSS version 26.0. A total of 343 samples were included in this study for the determination of the proportion of microalbuminuria and its associated factors.

    RESULTS: Of 343 respondents, 34.4% had microalbuminuria. HbAlc >7.0% (AdjOR 2.19, 95% CI: 1.35, 3.55, p=0.001), HDL <1.04 mmol/L (AdjOR 2.44, 95% CI: 1.323, 4.52, p=0.004), dyslipidaemia (AdjOR 1.90, 95% CI: 1.03, 3.48, p=0.039), and peripheral neuropathy (AdjOR 3.01, 95% CI: 1.02, 8.93, p=0.047) were significantly associated with microalbuminuria. Conclusion: Microalbuminuria is a modifiable risk factor in preventing the progression of ESRF among T2DM patients. Therefore, identification of factors associated with microalbuminuria among this high-risk group is important to facilitate early screening and prompt treatment to prevent progression of diabetic kidney disease to ESRF.

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