METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among individuals aged > 18 years old in Malaysia from December 2021 to May 2022. The survey was distributed both online and in public settings. The survey comprised of respondents' sociodemographic, perception of physical attractiveness, knowledge and attitude towards medical aesthetic practices. The factors influencing respondents' attitudes towards medical aesthetic practices in the country were analysed using binary logistic regression, with the significance level set at P<0.05.

RESULTS: A total of 382 respondents participated in this study with average age of 30.81 (±9.38) years, ranging from 18 to 68 years. The majority were women (77.5%), Malay (53.7%) and Muslim (57.1%). Although most respondents had no prior experience in medical aesthetic treatment (68.1%), 76.2% respondents demonstrated good knowledge and 70.2% had positive attitude towards these services. Additionally, 53.9% of the respondents highly valued the importance of physical attractiveness. The Buddhists and Hindus exhibited more positive attitude than the Muslims. Conversely, those who placed higher importance on physical attractiveness were 0.5 times less likely to develop a positive attitude towards medical aesthetic services.