Non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) kill 40 million people each year and accounts for 70% of all deaths globally. NCDs were previously considered to only affect high-income countries. However, they now account for a very large burden in terms of both death rates and disability in low- and middle-income countries. Also, age standardized mortality rates from NCDs are greater in these countries as compared to high-income countries. By 2020, it is predicted that these diseases will be causing 7 out of every 10 deaths in developing countries. NCDs also have potentially serious socioeconomic implications through increasing individual and household impoverishment thereby hindering social and economic development. This article is an effort to determine the magnitude and consequences of this expeditiously growing public health problem of NCDs through published literature.
Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases remain as the principal cause of death in Malaysia. The rural areas in Sabah still suffer from shortage of doctors and specialists. Health Indicators 2018 from Ministry of Health Malaysia shows the ratio of doctor to population in Sabah is 1:1029. The lack of specialist care for the rural population is a major concern. To overcome the barrier of healthcare services, deployment of telecardiology system is necessary. The objective of this project is to develop a real-time telecardiology system that can transmit and guarantee the quality of the ECG signal. Methods: The proposed real-time telecardiology system used an ECG sensor AD8232 to collect the ECG signal. Arduino ESP32 as a main controller of the system. It uploads the collected ECG data to the online database in real-time through Wi-Fi or cellular network with MQTT protocol. A website is developed for displaying the real-time ECG signal. Results: The proposed system has successfully displayed the ECG signal in real-time with 10000 ECG raw data were tested and stored in online database with no package loss and package error during the data transmission. The online system able to display real-time ECG signal and BPM on webpage. The real-time BPM is extracted from the real-time ECG raw data. Conclusion: The proposed real-time telecardiology system has success-fully transmitted ECG in real-time with high data integrity. Telecardiology is one of the best solutions to resolve the issue of shortage of healthcare professionals in rural areas and improve the healthcare quality in rural areas.
Introduction: Hypertension is a condition where there is persistently raised pressure in the blood vessels. In Malay-sia, higher prevalence of hypertension could be explained by lifestyle factors such as higher rates of obesity, excess dietary intake of sodium and fat and lack of physical activity. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, risk factors and co-morbidities of hypertension in villagers aged 18 years and above in Kampung Tajau Laut, Kudat, Sabah. Methods: Non-probability convenience sampling method was used to select a total of 210 villagers for interview, anthropometric examinations and blood pressure measurements. House to house and face to face interview by trained year four medical students done using a pretested validated questionnaire. The ques-tionnaire contained data on socioeconomic status, tobacco use, physical activity, diet, extra-salt use, family history of hypertension, co-morbidity, anthropometric measurements and blood pressure. Results: Respondents noted to be hypertensive were 67.6%, and out of this, 61.3% were undiagnosed. There was a significant association between hypertension and family history (Chi-squared test=38.280, p=0.000), hypertension and smoking status (Chi-squared test=7.673, p= 0.006), hypertension and obesity (Chi-squared test= 8.731, p=0.003), hypertension and gender (Chi-squared test=5.126, p=0.024), hypertension and age (Chi-squared test=26.110, p=0.000) of respondents. There was no significant association between hypertension with vegetable intake, fruit intake, physical activity, marital status, ethnicity, economic status, level of education, and occupational status of respondents. Half of the known hyperten-sive respondents have comorbidities with most commonly being dyslipidaemia and diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: Hypertension was found to have a significant association with family history, smoking status, obesity, age and gender among the studied population.
Introduction: Tobacco smoking is a major public health concern worldwide as it is one of the major risk factors for non-communicable diseases leading to burden of adverse health effects in their later life. According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey Malaysia (2011), 43.9% of men, 1.0% of women, and 23.1% overall currently smoked tobacco. It is important to prevent smoking uptake and promote smoking cessation to reduce the impact of tobacco smoking. The constant monitoring of the magnitude of smoking and its influencing factors is crucial for effective planning of anti-smoking programs. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of smoking and its associated factors among male villagers in Kampung Barambangon, Kudat, Sabah. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among male villagers aged 15 years and above in Kampung Barambangon, Kudat District, Sabah State. Non probability convenience sampling was employed. The study period was from March to April, 2019. Data collection was done by using pretested self-administered questionnaire and a total of 97 villagers were participated in the study. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The study revealed that the prevalence of smokers among male residents in Kampung Barambangon was 50.5% (95% CI: 48.6–52.1%). It was found that there were significant associations between smoking status and positive attitude towards smoking (p-value 0.001), having siblings who smoked (p value 0.001), having high percentage of friends who smoked (p-value 0.009) and high educational level (p-value 0.005). Conclusion: The prevalence of male smokers in Kampung Barambangon was higher than the national prevalence. The findings may help in understanding the magnitude of the smoking problem and its associated factors which can be used for effective tobacco control and intervention programs.