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Fulltext Effect of climate factors on the incidence of hand, foot, and mouth disease in Malaysia: A generalized additive mixed model

Abdul Wahid NA, Suhaila J, Rahman HA

Infect Dis Model, 2021;6:997-1008.
PMID: 34466760 DOI: 10.1016/j.idm.2021.08.003

Climate change is one of the critical determinants affecting life cycles and transmission of most infectious agents, including malaria, cholera, dengue fever, hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), and the recent Corona-virus pandemic. HFMD has been associated with a growing number of outbreaks resulting in fatal complications since the late 1990s. The outbreaks may result from a combination of rapid population growth, climate change, socioeconomic changes, and other lifestyle changes. However, the modeling of climate variability and HFMD remains unclear, particularly in statistical theory development. The statistical relationship between HFMD and climate factors has been widely studied using generalized linear and additive modeling. When dealing with time-series data with clustered variables such as HFMD with clustered states, the independence principle of both modeling approaches may be violated. Thus, a Generalized Additive Mixed Model (GAMM) is used to investigate the relationship between HFMD and climate factors in Malaysia. The model is improved by using a first-order autoregressive term and treating all Malaysian states as a random effect. This method is preferred as it allows states to be modeled as random effects and accounts for time series data autocorrelation. The findings indicate that climate variables such as rainfall and wind speed affect HFMD cases in Malaysia. The risk of HFMD increased in the subsequent two weeks with rainfall below 60 mm and decreased with rainfall exceeding 60 mm. Besides, a two-week lag in wind speeds between 2 and 5 m/s reduced HFMD's chances. The results also show that HFMD cases rose in Malaysia during the inter-monsoon and southwest monsoon seasons but fell during the northeast monsoon. The study's outcomes can be used by public health officials and the general public to raise awareness, and thus, implement effective preventive measures.
Tooth mortality in smokers and nonsmokers in a selected population in Sana'a, Yemen

Al-Bayaty FH, Wahid NA, Bulgiba AM

J Periodontal Res, 2008 Feb;43(1):9-13.
PMID: 18230101 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0765.2007.00988.x

Tobacco smoking has been shown to be a major risk factor for tooth loss. The present study was designed to examine tooth mortality and the patterns of tooth loss in smokers and nonsmokers over a wide age range in a selected population from Sana'a, Yemen.
Patterns of dyslipidemia and its associated factors among prediabetic subjects. A cross-sectional study at a primary care clinic

Siddiqui S, Harun SN, Ghadzi SMS, Wahid NA, Hassan AB, Zainal H

Malays Fam Physician, 2023;18:73.
PMID: 38213389 DOI: 10.51866/oa.125

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes is closely linked to cardiovascular diseases, with diabetic dyslipidaemia serving as an established marker of the acceleration of complications, contributing to an increased cardiovascular risk among patients. Timely detection and early characterization of lipid abnormalities can help clinicians in implementing effective preventive measures. This study aimed to determine the patterns and associated factors of dyslipidaemia among Malaysian subjects with borderline diabetes.
METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted among subjects with borderline diabetes aged ≥18 years who visited a primary healthcare centre at Universiti Sains Malaysia from January 2017 to December 2018. Sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory data were obtained from electronic medical records. Data were analysed using SPSS version 25.
RESULTS: A total of 250 participants with borderline diabetes were included in the analysis. Of them, 93.6% (n=234) had lipid abnormalities. Isolated dyslipidaemia characterised by a high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level (38.8%, n=97) was the most common pattern found, followed by combined dyslipidaemia of high LDL-C and triglyceride (TG) levels (22.8%, n=57). The male sex was found to be significantly associated with hypertriglyceridemia (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.09-3.1)(P=0.02). Diastolic blood pressure ≥90mmHg was significantly associated with a low HDL-C level (A0R=2.09, 95% CI=1.0-4.1) (P=0.03).
CONCLUSION: The majority of subjects with borderline diabetes have lipid abnormalities. Specifically, isolated dyslipidaemia characterised by a high LDL-C level is alarmingly prevalent. Further large-scale robust studies are needed to confirm the present findings.
Fulltext Efficacy of Oral Mixed Tocotrienols in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Vitamin E in Neuroprotection Study (VENUS) Investigators, Hor CP, Fung WY, Ang HA, Lim SC, Kam LY, et al.

JAMA Neurol, 2018 04 01;75(4):444-452.
PMID: 29379943 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.4609

Importance: Management of painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy remains challenging. Most therapies provide symptomatic relief with varying degrees of efficacy. Tocotrienols have modulatory effects on the neuropathy pathway and may reduce neuropathic symptoms with their antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities.
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of oral mixed tocotrienols for patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
Design, Setting, and Participants: The Vitamin E in Neuroprotection Study (VENUS) was a parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that recruited participants from January 30, 2011, to December 7, 2014, with 12 months of follow-up. This trial screened 14 289 patients with diabetes from 6 health clinics and ambulatory care units from 5 public hospitals in Malaysia. A total of 391 patients who reported neuropathic symptoms were further assessed with Total Symptom Score (TSS) and Neuropathy Impairment Score (NIS). Patients 20 years or older with a TSS of 3 or higher and an NIS of 2 or higher were recruited.
Interventions: Patients were randomized to receive 200 mg of mixed tocotrienols twice daily or matching placebo for 12 months. Patients with hyperhomocysteinemia (homocysteine level ≥2.03 mg/L) received oral folic acid, 5 mg once daily, and methylcobalamin, 500 μg thrice daily, in both groups.
Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was patient-reported neuropathy TSS (lancinating pain, burning pain, paresthesia, and asleep numbness) changes at 12 months. The secondary outcomes were NIS and sensory nerve conduction test result.
Results: Of 391 eligible patients, 300 were recruited (130 [43.3%] male; mean [SD] age, 57.6 [8.9] years; mean [SD] duration of diabetes, 11.4 [7.8] years) and 229 (76.3%) completed the trial. The TSS changes between the tocotrienols and placebo groups at 12 months (-0.30; 95% CI, -1.16 to 0.56; P = .49) were similar. No significant differences in NIS (0.60; 95% CI, -1.37 to 2.65; P = .53) and sensory nerve conduction test assessments were found between both groups. In post hoc subgroup analyses, tocotrienols reduced lancinating pain among patients with hemoglobin A1C levels greater than 8% (P = .03) and normohomocysteinemia (homocysteine level <2.03 mg/L; P = .008) at 1 year. Serious adverse events in both groups were similar, except more infections were observed in the tocotrienols group (6.7% vs 0.7%, P = .04). Results reported were of modified intention-to-treat analyses.
Conclusions and Relevance: Supplementation of oral mixed tocotrienols, 400 mg/d for 1 year, did not improve overall neuropathic symptoms. The preliminary observations on lancinating pain among subsets of patients require further exploration.
Trial Registration: National Medical Research Registry Identifier: NMRR-10-948-7327 and clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01973400.