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Fulltext Life-styles and health-related behaviour

Chen PCY

Med J Malaysia, 1985 Jun;40(2):60-1.
PMID: 3834288
Matched MeSH terms: Life Style*
The increasing life span of Malaysians

Sandosham AA

Med J Malaya, 1969 Sep;24(1):1-2.
PMID: 4243837

According to the statistical information recently released, the expectation of life of the average Malaysian had increased by 1966 to about 67 years and there was every prospect of the trend being continued. No doubt the sound economy leading to higher living standards and better nutrition and the improved health services in the rural areas account for present day Malaysians being healthier and living longer. The health of children in particular has shown great improvement, the infant deaths having dropped from 75.5 per 1,000 children below the age of one in 1957 to 48 in 1966, and the crude toddler mortality rate from 10.7 to 5.1. Further improvement may be expected, especially in the rural areas with the current malaria eradication programme and the proposal to get the rural health clinic personnel to visit homes in the kampongs to disseminate knowledge on health, nutrition and home economics. It is to be hoped that at the same time, the family planning campaign in the rural areas will begin to produce results so that the economic and other benefits are not spread too thin over a large population. However, almost simultaneously with the release of the information that the life span had increased and that the average Malaysian of 55 may now expect to live for about another 20 years, came the shocking announcement by the government that the compulsory retiring age has been reduced from 60 to 55. Why is the Malaysian considered too old for government service when he reaches the magic age of 55 while there has been new thinking on retirement policies in Western countries? In view of the longer active life expectancy, there has been a fuller recognition in many countries of the contribution that older people can make to the life of the community. In the case of the professional man, this enforced premature retirement from government service may actually prove a blessing in disguise. The doctor, dentist, engineer, etc., may, in fact, welcome the opportunity of being released early so that he can set himself up in private practice or join in partnership with his fellows in the private sector. What happens to the vast majority of government servants who are not so luckily placed? What is he to do when he is thrown out without any training or preparation into a ruthless competitive world of commerce and industry at the age of 55 when he could be usefully employed in the public services for a few more years?
It has been estimated that there are in West Malaysia alone about 800,000 people in the age group of 55 and above. This latter figure will keep increasing with the rising span of life and a population growing steadily at the rate of over three percent per annum. With the better control of infectious and communicable diseases, problems of degenerative diseases are becoming more common. The picture of medical practice in the country has begun to change with more and more people presenting themselves with condition resulting from cardiovascular derangement, neoplasm and mental and senile changes. Traditionally, the old folks in Asia have been housed and cared for by the children but modernization in outlook and urbanization are steadily changing that state of affairs. The old folks are finding themselves more and more dependant on themselves and the poorer ones tend to finish up in overcrowded homes run by charitable organizations with little or no geriatric care. These people, however, should not be penalized because they are too old and cannot earn any more. Most modern countries accept their responsibility to support the aged in dignity and comfort by providing adequate old age pensions and properly run old folks’ homes and do not leave them to the charity of a few benevolent members of society. We would like to see more done for them in this country.

Matched MeSH terms: Life Expectancy*
On the estimation of three parameters lognormal distribution based on fuzzy life time data

Shafiq M, Alamgir, Atif M

Sains Malaysiana, 2016;45:1773-1777.

Countless statistical tools are available to extract information from data. Life time modeling is considered as one of
the most prominent fields of statistics, which is evident from the developments made in this field in the last few decades.
Almost every statistic for life time analysis is based on precise life time observations, however, life time is not a precise
measurement but more or less fuzzy. Therefore, in addition to classical statistical tools, fuzzy number approaches to
describe life time data are more suitable. In order to incorporate fuzziness of the observations, fuzzy estimators for the
three parameter lognormal distribution were suggested. The proposed estimators cover stochastic variation as well as
fuzziness of the observations.

Matched MeSH terms: Life
Fulltext Health state utility values ranges across varying stages and severity of type 2 diabetes-related complications: A systematic review

Tan MHP, Ong SC, Tahir NAM, Ali AM, Mustafa N

PLoS One, 2024;19(4):e0297589.
PMID: 38574169 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297589

INTRODUCTION: Health state utility values (HSUV) for Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) complications are useful in economic evaluations to determine cost effectiveness of an intervention. However, there is a lack of reference ranges for different severity and stages of individual complications. This study aimed to provide an overview of HSUV decrement ranges for common T2DM complications focusing on different severity and stages of complications.
METHOD: A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, SCOPUS, WEB OF SCIENCE. (Jan 2000 to April 2022). Included studies for HSUV estimates were from outpatient setting, regardless of treatment types, complication stages, regions and HRQoL instruments. Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) outcomes was to be presented as HSUV decrement values, adjusted according to social demographics and comorbidities. Adjusted HSUV decrements were extracted and compiled according to individual complications. After which, subsequently grouped into mild or severe category for comparison.
RESULTS: Searches identified 35 studies. The size of the study population ranged from 160 to 14,826. The HSUV decrement range was widest for cerebrovascular disease (stroke): -0.0060 to -0.0780 for mild stroke and -0.035 to -0.266 for severe stroke; retinopathy: mild (-0.005 to -0.0862), moderate (-0.0030 to -0.1845) and severe retinopathy (-0.023 to -0.2434); amputation: (-0.1050 to -0.2880). Different nature of complication severity defined in studies could be categorized into: those with acute nature, chronic with lasting effects, those with symptoms at early stage or those with repetitive frequency or episodes.
DISCUSSION: Overview of HSUV decrement ranges across different stages of each T2DM diabetes-related complications shows that chronic complications with lasting impact such as amputation, severe stroke with sequelae and severe retinopathy with blindness were generally associated with larger HSUV decrement range. Considerable heterogeneities exist across the studies. Promoting standardized complication definitions and identifying the most influential health state stages on HSUV decrements may assist researchers for future cost-effectiveness studies.

Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life
Fulltext Smell Outcome and Seropositivity Titre in Post-COVID-19 Patients

Harminder Singh SK, Husain S, Wan Hamizan AK, Zahedi FD, Othman SN, Zainol Rashid Z

ORL J Otorhinolaryngol Relat Spec, 2023;85(6):305-311.
PMID: 37473733 DOI: 10.1159/000531222

INTRODUCTION: The aims of the study were to perform an olfactory assessment on patients active and post-COVID-19 using the culturally adapted Malaysian version Sniffin' Sticks identification smell test (mSS-SIT), to evaluate the patient olfactory outcome using a Malay short version of the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders-Negative Statements (msQOD-NS), as well as to evaluate seropositive titre (IgG) response using automated serology method.
METHODS: Score for mSS-SIT was performed during the hospitalization, when patients had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (during COVID-19), and repeated after they had tested negative (after COVID-19). Also, each patient completed msQOD-NS and serology SARS-CoV-2 antibodies blood test was evaluated.
RESULTS: During COVID-19, 2 of our patients were anosmia (6.5%), 22 (70.9%) were hyposmia, and 7 (22.6%) were normosmia. We repeated mSS-SIT on these same patients after COVID-19, and none of these subjects were hyposmia or anosmia, as they achieved a score >12. All our patients had scored 21 using msQOD-NS, meaning no impact on quality of life as they had regained their normal olfactory function. In this study also, we obtained no correlation between smell test and seropositivity titre COVID-19, and antibody levels gradually decreased over time till 6 months and remained stable up to 12 months.
CONCLUSION: From this study, we know full recovery of the sense of smell can be expected post-COVID-19 infection and COVID-19 antibody persists in the body up to 12 months of infection.

Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life
Need of minimal important difference for oral health-related quality of life measures

Masood M, Masood Y, Saub R, Newton JT

J Public Health Dent, 2014;74(1):13-20.
PMID: 22994869 DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-7325.2012.00374.x

Demand and use for oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) instruments have increased in recent years in both research and clinical settings. These instruments can be used to measure patient's health status or detect changes in a patient's health status in response to an intervention or changes in disease trajectory. Ensuring universal acceptance of these measures requires easy interpretation of its scores for clinicians, researchers, and patients. The most important way of describing and interpreting this significance of changes in OHRQoL is through the establishment of minimal important difference (MID). The minimally important difference represents the smallest improvement considered worthwhile by a patient. A comprehensive search of published literature identified only 12 published articles on establishment of MID for OHRQoL measures. This scarcity of published studies on MID encourages the need of appropriate interpretation and describing patient satisfaction in reference to that treatment using MID. Anchor- and distribution-based methods are the two general approaches that have been proposed and recommended to interpret differences or changes in OHRQoL. Both of these methods of determining the MID have specific shortcomings; therefore, it is proposed to adopt triangulation approaches in which the methods are combined. The objective of this review is to summarize the need for, importance of, and recommendations for methods of establishing MID for OHRQoL measures.

Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life*
Stressful life events preceding the onset of depression in Asian patients with major depressive disorder

Park S, Hatim A, Si TM, Jeon HJ, Srisurapanont M, Bautista D, et al.

Int J Soc Psychiatry, 2015 Dec;61(8):735-42.
PMID: 25846010 DOI: 10.1177/0020764015577842

Previous studies have identified the significant role of stressful life events in the onset of depressive episodes. However, there is a paucity of cross-national studies on stressful life events that precede depression.

Matched MeSH terms: Life Change Events; Life
Role of agriculture in creating values for the country and improving the quality of life for the people of Malaysia towards de year 2020

Daud SH

Ann Acad Med Singap, 1995 Nov;24(6):921-5.
PMID: 9012316
Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life*
Fulltext Nutrition and the Malaysian Healthy Lifestyle Programme: challenges in implementation

Suleiman AB, Tee ES

Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 1998 Dec;7(3/4):230-7.
PMID: 24393676

There are significant differences in the food consumption patterns of countries. In the lower income countries, most of the energy intake is derived from cereals and starchy roots. On the other hand, the intake of these carbohydrate foods is much lower in the economically developed countries and more of the energy is derived from added fats, alcohol, meat, dairy products and sweeteners. The contribution of energy from various food groups has changed markedly over the past three decades. With increasing national wealth there is a general tendency for the consumption of cereal foods to decline, whereas the consumption of added fats, alcohol, meat and dairy products has increased over the years. Similar changes have also been observed for Malaysia. These dietary alterations, as well as other lifestyle changes, have brought about a new nutrition scenario in many developing countries. These countries are now faced with the twin problems of malnutrition, that is, undernutrition among some segments of the population and diet-related chronic diseases in other groups; for example, obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes and various cancers. In Malaysia, deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system and neoplasms have been on the rise since the 1960s. The former has been the most important cause of death in the country for more than 15 years, with cancer ranking third for almost 10 years. Epidemiological data collected from different community groups showed increased prevalences of various risk factors amongst Malaysians. In view of the changed nutrition scenario in the country, intervention programmes have been reviewed accordingly. The Healthy Lifestyle (HLS) Programme was launched in 1991 as a comprehensive, long-term approach to combating the emerging diet-related chronic diseases. For six consecutive years one thematic campaign per year was carried out; namely, coronary heart disease (1991), sexually transmitted diseases (1992), food safety (1993), childhood diseases (1994), cancers (1995) and diabetes mellitus (1996). To further strengthen health promotion among the community, another series of activities to be carried out under the second phase of the HLS programme from 1997 to 2002 was launched within the framework of the National Plan of Action on Nutrition (NPAN) for Malaysia. In view of the importance of diet and nutrition in the causation and prevention of chronic diseases, the theme for the first year of this phase was Healthy Eating. It is clear that nutrition education for the community in order to inculcate a culture of healthy eating is the long-term solution. A series of guidelines have been prepared for dissemination to the public via a variety of media and approaches, and with the collaboration of various government and non-governmental organisations. The implementation of the programme is, however, a challenge to health and nutrition workers. There is a need to examine the strategies for nutrition education to ensure more effective dissemination of information. The challenge is to determine how best to promote healthy eating within the present scenerio of rapid urbanisation, 'western' dietary pattern influence, a whole barrage of convenience and 'health' foods, and nutrition misinformation. We would like to share our experiences in the approaches taken and our concerns with other countries in the region given that various opportunities exist for collaboration.

Matched MeSH terms: Life Style*
Linguistic and psychometric validation of the Malaysian version of Diabetes Quality of Life-Brief Clinical Inventory (DQoL-BCI): Methodological issues to avoid to misinterpretation

Safiri S, Ayubi E

Res Social Adm Pharm, 2016 11 24;13(2):398.
PMID: 27914951 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2016.11.004
Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life*
On estimate of Malaysian mortality rates using interpolation methods

Nur Idayu Ah Khaliludin, Zarina Mohd Khalid, Haliza Abd.Rahman

MATEMATIKA, 2019;35(2):177-186.
MyJurnal

Life table is a table that shows mortality experience of a nation. However, in Malaysia, the information in this table is provided in the five-years age groups (abridged) instead of every one-year age. Hence, this study aims to estimate the one-year age mor- tality rates from the abridged mortality rates using several interpolation methods. We applied Kostaki method and the Akima spline method to five sets of Malaysian group mortality rates ranging from period of 2012 to 2016. The result were then compared with the one-year mortality rates. We found that the method by Akima is the best method for Malaysian mortality experience as it gives the least minimum of sum of square errors. The method does not only provide a good fit but also, shows a smooth mortality curve.

Matched MeSH terms: Life Expectancy; Life Tables
Fulltext The Interplay of Socioecological Determinants of Work-Life Balance, Subjective Wellbeing and Employee Wellbeing

Wong KP, Lee FCH, Teh PL, Chan AHS

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021 04 24;18(9).
PMID: 33923234 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18094525

Today's workers are struggling to achieve a balance between their work and personal life roles because of both specific needs and limited resources. This study explored the socioecological factors that influence work-life balance (WLB) and how they operate. The relationships between WLB, subjective wellbeing, employee wellbeing and quality time allocation were examined. A total of 1063 responses were received, using an online survey. The results show that relational, community and societal factors directly influenced the individual factors and were indirectly associated with perceived WLB. Individual factors (i.e., personal feelings, behaviours and health) were found to be the crucial determinants of an individual's perceived WLB. It was found that WLB positively correlated with employee wellbeing and quality and quantity of personal life-time. Subjective wellbeing was found to be a significant moderator in the relationship between WLB and its outcomes. This study demonstrated the process of how workers determine their own WLB by applying the socioecological framework for categorising the determinants and suggested new avenues that improve the whole wellbeing of workers and also foster long-term development of organisations.

Matched MeSH terms: Work-Life Balance*
Fulltext Variations in concerns reported on the patient concerns inventory in patients with head and neck cancer from different health settings across the world

Rogers SN, Alvear A, Anesi A, Babin E, Balik A, Batstone M, et al.

Head Neck, 2020 03;42(3):498-512.
PMID: 31833121 DOI: 10.1002/hed.26027

BACKGROUND: The aim was to collate and contrast patient concerns from a range of different head and neck cancer follow-up clinics around the world. Also, we sought to explore the relationship, if any, between responses to the patient concerns inventory (PCI) and overall quality of life (QOL).
METHODS: Nineteen units participated with intention of including 100 patients per site as close to a consecutive series as possible in order to minimize selection bias.
RESULTS: There were 2136 patients with a median total number of PCI items selected of 5 (2-10). "Fear of the cancer returning" (39%) and "dry mouth" (37%) were most common. Twenty-five percent (524) reported less than good QOL.
CONCLUSION: There was considerable variation between units in the number of items selected and in overall QOL, even after allowing for case-mix variables. There was a strong progressive association between the number of PCI items and QOL.

Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life*
New horizons in falls prevention and management for older adults: a global initiative

Montero-Odasso M, van der Velde N, Alexander NB, Becker C, Blain H, Camicioli R, et al.

Age Ageing, 2021 09 11;50(5):1499-1507.
PMID: 34038522 DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afab076

BACKGROUND: falls and fall-related injuries are common in older adults, have negative effects both on quality of life and functional independence and are associated with increased morbidity, mortality and health care costs. Current clinical approaches and advice from falls guidelines vary substantially between countries and settings, warranting a standardised approach. At the first World Congress on Falls and Postural Instability in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in December 2019, a worldwide task force of experts in falls in older adults, committed to achieving a global consensus on updating clinical practice guidelines for falls prevention and management by incorporating current and emerging evidence in falls research. Moreover, the importance of taking a person-centred approach and including perspectives from patients, caregivers and other stakeholders was recognised as important components of this endeavour. Finally, the need to specifically include recent developments in e-health was acknowledged, as well as the importance of addressing differences between settings and including developing countries.
METHODS: a steering committee was assembled and 10 working Groups were created to provide preliminary evidence-based recommendations. A cross-cutting theme on patient's perspective was also created. In addition, a worldwide multidisciplinary group of experts and stakeholders, to review the proposed recommendations and to participate in a Delphi process to achieve consensus for the final recommendations, was brought together.
CONCLUSION: in this New Horizons article, the global challenges in falls prevention are depicted, the goals of the worldwide task force are summarised and the conceptual framework for development of a global falls prevention and management guideline is presented.

Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life*
Tree of life

EVANS WG

Med J Malaya, 1957 Jun;11(4):308-11.
PMID: 13482568
Matched MeSH terms: Life*
Fulltext Challenge-hindrance appraisal job and work-life balance among teachers: a conceptual paper

Pan, Lee Ching, Chua, Bee Seok

Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2018;3(3):104-116.
MyJurnal

Work-life balance is a prerequisite, in the choice of contemporary work styles, but allegedly has deteriorated in the teaching profession. Affected work-life quality causes serious impacts including work-life conflict, decreased job ability and affects an individual’s psychological state. This distress wave affects on a global scale, due to extreme workloads which cause high job stress that eventually affect quality of life. In the Malaysian context, job stress is currently at a medium level, but workloads are expected to increase, hence, work-life balance is potentially at risk. Investigations into work-life balance among teachers in Sabah is scarce. In addition, studies have not adequately examined the issue with positive integration. Balancing is about strengthening the known gains, and overcoming the identified strains. Thus, present conceptual paper discussed about the relationship of workload, eustress and distress towards work-life balance. Ultimately, a conceptual framework is developed based on the reviewed literature.

Matched MeSH terms: Work-Life Balance*
Fulltext Toward developing a sustainability index for the Islamic Social Finance program: An empirical investigation

Widiastuti T, Prasetyo A, Robani A, Mawardi I, Rosida R, Al Mustofa MU

PLoS One, 2022;17(11):e0276876.
PMID: 36413519 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276876

Several previous studies state that the Islamic Social Finance program has not fully succeeded in creating prosperity, and there are no definite measurements to show the sustainability impact of the program. Thus, a measurement is needed to analyze various aspects in achieving the success and sustainability of Islamic social finance programs. This study developed an index for performance evaluation with an emphasis on the success and sustainability of the Islamic Social Finance program. The study used the Analytical Network Process to determine and analyze priority components. Furthermore, the Multistage Weighted Index method was used to calculate the final index score. The index was built by taking into consideration various factors, stakeholders, aspects, and indicators. This study indicates that aspects of funding contribution from donors (0.22), involvement of donors in giving advice (0.99), and controlling of supervisor (0.08) are priority aspects in the success and sustainability of the program. An empirical investigation was performed on three different programs in Indonesia: A, B, and C. Program A (0.81) and C (0.80) have succeeded in improving the beneficiaries' quality of life to the level of economic resilience, although at a low level of sustainability (76-84.33). On the other hand, program B (0.73) is at the economic reinforcement and has not yet achieved sustainability. This index can be seen as a comprehensive tool for measuring the success and sustainability of the program at several levels.

Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life*
Surgery-first approach vs traditional approach

Arunachalam S, Sharan J

Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop, 2018 02;153(2):168-169.
PMID: 29407490 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajodo.2017.11.013
Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life*
Fulltext Effectiveness of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation: systematic review and meta-analysis

Uzzaman MN, Agarwal D, Chan SC, Patrick Engkasan J, Habib GMM, Hanafi NS, et al.

Eur Respir Rev, 2022 Sep 30;31(165).
PMID: 36130789 DOI: 10.1183/16000617.0076-2022

INTRODUCTION: Despite proven effectiveness for people with chronic respiratory diseases, practical barriers to attending centre-based pulmonary rehabilitation (centre-PR) limit accessibility. We aimed to review the clinical effectiveness, components and completion rates of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation (home-PR) compared to centre-PR or usual care.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Using Cochrane methodology, we searched (January 1990 to August 2021) six electronic databases using a PICOS (population, intervention, comparison, outcome, study type) search strategy, assessed Cochrane risk of bias, performed meta-analysis and narrative synthesis to answer our objectives and used the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations framework to rate certainty of evidence.
RESULTS: We identified 16 studies (1800 COPD patients; 11 countries). The effects of home-PR on exercise capacity and/or health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were compared to either centre-PR (n=7) or usual care (n=8); one study used both comparators. Compared to usual care, home-PR significantly improved exercise capacity (standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.88, 95% CI 0.32-1.44; p=0.002) and HRQoL (SMD -0.62, 95% CI -0.88--0.36; p<0.001). Compared to centre-PR, home-PR showed no significant difference in exercise capacity (SMD -0.10, 95% CI -0.25-0.05; p=0.21) or HRQoL (SMD 0.01, 95% CI -0.15-0.17; p=0.87).
CONCLUSION: Home-PR is as effective as centre-PR in improving functional exercise capacity and quality of life compared to usual care, and is an option to enable access to pulmonary rehabilitation.

Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life*
Fulltext A Systematic Review of Molecular Hydrogen Therapy in Cancer Management

Mohd Noor MNZ, Alauddin AS, Wong YH, Looi CY, Wong EH, Madhavan P, et al.

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2023 Jan 01;24(1):37-47.
PMID: 36708550 DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2023.24.1.37

BACKGROUND: Cancer remains a challenging target to cure, with present therapeutic methods unable to exhibit restorative outcomes without causing severe negative effects. Molecular hydrogen (H2) has been reported to be a promising adjunctive therapy for cancer treatment, having the capability to induce anti-proliferative, anti-oxidative, pro-apoptotic and anti-tumoural effects. This review summarises the findings from various articles on the mechanism, treatment outcomes, and overall effectiveness of H2 therapy on cancer management.
METHODS: Using Cochrane, PubMed, and Google Scholar as the search engines, full-text articles in the scope of the study, written in English and within 10 years of publication were selected.
RESULTS: Out of the 677 articles, 27 articles fulfilled the eligibility criteria, where data was compiled into a table, outlining the general characteristics and findings. Throughout the different forms of H2 administration, study design and types of cancers reported, outcomes were found to be consistent.
CONCLUSION: From our analysis, H2 plays a promising therapeutic role as an independent therapy as well as an adjuvant in combination therapy, resulting in an overall improvement in survivability, quality of life, blood parameters, and tumour reduction. Although more comprehensive research is needed, given the promising outcomes, H2 is worth considering for use as a complement to current cancer therapy.

Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life*

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