Sinusitis is an important cause of morbidity and one of the major sources of income loss. Anatomical variations of the nose have been reported to predispose to sinusitis. These variations include concha bullosa, nasal septal deviation and oversized bulla. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion and the distribution of concha bullosa in patients with chronic sinusitis and to determine the relationship between concha bullosa and age, sex, ethnicity. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat in Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL). Data was collected retrospectively using a pretested proforma. All patients who underwent Sino nasal surgery between January 1999 and December 2000 and whose preoperative CT scans were available were included in the study. The CT scans were reviewed. Analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Out of 146 patients who underwent sinonasal surgery between January 1999 and December 2000, 101 (69.2% preoperative CT scans of these patients were available and these were reviewed. The proportion of patients with concha bullosa was 49.5%. The results showed that there was significant relationship between presence of concha bullosa and age and sex. The overall mean age of patient with concha bullosa was 35.7 years (95% CI 12.1-39.3) and ranged from 11-years to 56-years. The mean age of respondents with concha bullosa was significantly lower than patients without concha bullosa 41.98 (95% CI 37.6-46.3; t-test = 2.221; df=99; p < 0.05). Concha bullosa was significantly more in females (66.0%) compared to males (chi2 = 4.465, df=1, p < 0.05). There was no significant relationship between presence of concha bullosa and ethnicity.
Overweight and obesity place children and adolescents at increased risk of significant health problems, both during their early life and adult life. A cross sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence of overweight among secondary school students aged 13-17 years in the Klang district and to determine the association between overweight and age, sex, ethnicity, religion and blood pressure. Random cluster proportionate to size sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Weight was recorded using TANITA model HD-309 and height was measured using SECA Body meter Model 208. A mercury sphygmomanometer was used to measure blood pressure manually. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 13. Out of the 3,333 respondents, 11.4% were found to be at risk of overweight and 8.2% were overweight. The prevalence of overweight was significantly higher in the males (10.6%) as compared to females (6.0%). Prevalence of overweight was highest in Malays (10.7%) followed by the Indians (7.1%) and the Chinese (5.9%). Prevalence of 'risk of overweight' was highest in the Indians (13.7%) followed by Chinese (12.0%) and Malays (9.8%). There was a moderate direct significant relationship between overweight and systolic blood pressure (r=0.5, r2=0.25, p<0.001) and also diastolic blood pressure (r=0.42, r2=0.18, p<0.001). The relationship between BMI and overweight was very weak (r=0.11, r2=0.01 and df=3331, p<0.001). In conclusion the prevalence of overweight among the secondary school students is high and there is a need for a comprehensive integrated population-based intervention program.