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  1. Nutritional and socio-economic determinants of cognitive function and educational achievement of Aboriginal schoolchildren in rural Malaysia
    Al-Mekhlafi HM, Mahdy MA, Sallam AA, Ariffin WA, Al-Mekhlafi AM, Amran AA, et al.
    Br J Nutr, 2011 Oct;106(7):1100-6.
    PMID: 21492493 DOI: 10.1017/S0007114511001449
    A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among Aboriginal schoolchildren aged 7-12 years living in remote areas in Pos Betau, Pahang, Malaysia to investigate the potential determinants influencing the cognitive function and educational achievement of these children. Cognitive function was measured by intelligence quotient (IQ), while examination scores of selected school subjects were used in assessing educational achievement. Blood samples were collected to assess serum Fe status. All children were screened for soil-transmitted helminthes. Demographic and socio-economic data were collected using pre-tested questionnaires. Almost two-thirds (67·6 %) of the subjects had poor IQ and most of them (72·6 %) had insufficient educational achievement. Output of the stepwise multiple regression model showed that poor IQ was significantly associated with low household income which contributed the most to the regression variance (r2 0·059; P = 0·020). Low maternal education was also identified as a significant predictor of low IQ scores (r2 0·042; P = 0·043). With educational achievement, Fe-deficiency anaemia (IDA) was the only variable to show significant association (r2 0·025; P = 0·015). In conclusion, the cognitive function and educational achievement of Aboriginal schoolchildren are poor and influenced by household income, maternal education and IDA. Thus, effective and integrated measures to improve the nutritional and socio-economic status of rural children would have a pronounced positive effect on their education.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nutrition Disorders/psychology
  2. Impact of nutritional status on the quality of life of advanced cancer patients in hospice home care
    Shahmoradi N, Kandiah M, Peng LS
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2009;10(6):1003-09.
    PMID: 20192573
    BACKGROUND: Cancer patients frequently experience malnutrition and this is an important factor in impaired quality of life.

    OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study examined the association between global quality of life and its various subscales with nutritional status among 61 (33 females and 28 males) advanced cancer patients cared for by selected hospices in peninsular Malaysia.

    METHODS: The Patient Generated-Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and the Hospice Quality of Life Index (HQLI) were used to assess nutritional status and quality of life, respectively.

    RESULTS: Nine (14.7%) patients were well-nourished, 32 (52.5%) were moderately or suspected of being malnourished while 20 (32.8%) of them were severely malnourished. The total HQLI mean score for these patients was 189.9-/+51.7, with possible scores ranging from 0 to 280. The most problem areas in these patients were in the domain of functional well-being and the least problems were found in the social/spiritual domain. PG-SGA scores significantly correlated with total quality of life scores (r2= 0.38, p<0.05), psychophysiological well-being (r2= 0.37, p<0.05), functional well-being (r2= 0.42, p<0.05) and social/ spiritual well-being (r2= 0.07, p<0.05). Thus, patients with a higher PG-SGA score or poorer nutritional status exhibited a lower quality of life.

    CONCLUSION: Advanced cancer patients with poor nutritional status have a diminished quality of life. These findings suggest that there is a need for a comprehensive nutritional intervention for improving nutritional status and quality of life in terminally ill cancer patients under hospice care.

    Matched MeSH terms: Nutrition Disorders/psychology
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