STRESS COPING SKILLS AMONG DIABETES SUFERERS IN SEPANG SELANGOR MALAYSIA

ABSTRACT Stress is a potential contributor to elevate blood glucose level in diabetic patients and diabetes, which is the leading cause of many chronic diseases, is showing increasing trend among adults in every country. This study investigates the prevalence of diabetes among stress sufferers and to identify stress coping skills in rural and urban area of Sepang, Selangor. A cross-sectional study were conducted in a village and housing estate area in Sepang, Selangor with sample of 196 in Kg UluTeris and 174 in Taman Mawar. A simple random sample of adults aged 18 years and above was selected. Data was collected by an interviewed questionnaire and blood collection. Overall, 33.7% of respondents in rural and 54.6% in urban areas were having stress. The rural-urban difference in prevalence of diabetes among stress respondents were greatest with 50.5% in urban, whereas 37.9% in rural.It was also higher compared to non-diabetics in urban area. The common cause of stress in urban was work and coping skill was self-distraction, whereas in rural area was family and religious activities, respectively. It is crucial for this group of subjects to practice appropriate stress coping skills and practice healthy life style

The prevalence of internet gaming disorders and the associated psychosocial risk factors among adolescents in Malaysian secondary schools

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has been placed under the conditions for further study segment in DSM-5. The purpose of the current study was to develop a preliminary psychosocial model as a reference for providing appropriate intervention, particularly for adolescents with IGD. A total of 5290 adolescents from secondary schools in seven states in Malaysia were recruited by using proportionate random sampling. A standardized set of validated questionnaires such as DASS-21, BIS-11, and IGDS9-SF were distributed to participants that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The prevalence of IGD among Malaysian adolescents was 3.5%. The bivariate analysis summarized that factors such as stress, impulsivity, gender, time spent using the internet, and relationship with parents and friends; have statistically significant associations with IGD. The logistic regression model revealed that adolescents with IGD were 9 times more likely to experience extremely severe stress (p < 0.001). Several psychosocial factors were associated strongly with IGD in the current study, however, mental health shows the most significant issues among adolescents with IGD. Immediate intervention through a psychological approach to internet gaming is needed from parents, schools, and also respective stakeholders. IGD may become one of the addictions diseases that cause deterioration in many aspects of an adolescent’s future life without serious intervention

Effect of vitamin D3-fortified fruit juice supplementation of 4000 IU daily on the recovery of iron status in childbearing-aged women with marginally low iron stores: protocol for an 8-week, parallel group, double-blind randomized controlled trial

Background : In recent years, emerging evidence has highlighted the role of vitamin D as an iron absorption enhancer by suppressing hepcidin concentration, albeit with an unclear underlying mechanism. Dietary-based approach in improving iron status has been widely practised, however, there is a scarcity in randomized controlled trials (RCT) to elucidate the effect of vitamin D-fortified juice on iron status recovery. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of an 8-week vitamin D3-fortified fruit juice supplementation on iron status indicators in childbearing-aged women with marginally low iron stores. Methods : In a placebo-controlled, double-blind, RCT, a total of 120 women aged between 19–40 with serum ferritin < 20 μg/l and fulfilled the eligibility criteria will be randomized into consuming either vitamin D3-fortified fruit juices containing 4000 IU (100 mcg) (vitamin D) or placebo-fruit juices (placebo) daily for eight weeks. At every 4-week interval, 10 ml fasting blood sample, information on dietary habit and anthropometric measurement will be collected. A mixed model repeated-measures analysis of variance will be performed to determine the effect of the intervention and the interaction with time points for all iron and vitamin D status blood biomarkers. Discussion : Vitamin D supplementation in food fortification as a novel iron absorption enhancer might be a future and relevant alternative management of iron deficiency as opposed to the oral iron therapy that has poor adherence

Content validity of the general nutrition knowledge questionnaire for Malaysian adult population

Introduction: Adequate knowledge of nutrition showed a strong association with good dietary habits and a healthy lifestyle. Nevertheless, there has not yet been a validated questionnaire on this particular topic for application among the general Malaysian populace. As such, this study was aimed to construct a questionnaire that is content validated, suitable, and developed for the Malaysian population adapted from the latest revised version of the general nutrition knowledge questionnaire (GNKQ-R) Methods: We conducted this study through one-on-one online interviews with three expert panels, to review each item of the GNKQ-R, taking into account the Malaysian Dietary Guideline 2020, and the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey 2014. Further, five expert panels were asked to rate the revised items based on relevance on the four-point scale Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated for each item with a value of more than 0.8 indicating that the item is relevant to include in the questionnaire. Results: Overall, out of 47 items, five items scored CVI less than 0.8 (range 0.6- 1.0). The item on waist circumference was suggested to add by the experts. Conclusion: Five items were suggested to review or revise and one item on waist circumference is suggested to add before the questionnaire is translated to Bahasa Malaysia and further evaluated for face validity and psychometric properties

Systematic review on factors of mortality among dengue patients in Malaysia

Introduction: Malaysia has a high concentration of dengue cases. Even though the case fatality rate is low among dengue patients, identification of the risk factors of dengue mortality helps in the management of these patients. Findings from previous studies were inconclusive, thus, we systematically review studies to identify the factors of mortality among dengue patients in Malaysia. Methods: Three main search engines such as PubMed, ScienceDirect and EBSCO were used to screen the articles. This systematic review follows PRISMA guidelines. Results: The initial search yielded a total of 523 articles to be reviewed. However, after screening,&nbsp; four articles were left with all of them being quantitative studies. From the four studies accepted, thirty-six factors were identified. The factors include age, gender, nausea, vomiting, bleeding, lethargy, body ache, abdominal pain, retro-orbital pain, dysuria, shock, pleural effusion, ascites, prolonged Prothrombin Time (PT), Haematocrit (HCT)&gt;20%, Serum pH &lt;7.35, Serum ferritin &gt;10,000 ni/mL, serum creatinine, serum lactate &gt;2, white blood cell (WBC) count, insulin dependant diabetes, ischemic cardiovascular disease and progressive renal disease. Conclusions: To conclude, age and bleeding were found as the most important health risk for Dengue patients and poses a great liability towards mortality among patients infected with dengue in Malaysia

The prevalence and associated factors of psychological distress among adults in a suburban community in Johor, Malaysia

Psychological distress refers to non-specific symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Although it is common in the community, it is crucial to identify groups at risk of experiencing psychological distress for appropriate intervention strategies. This study aims to assess the prevalence of psychological distress and to determine the association between sociodemographic factors and satisfaction with life on psychological distress among adults in a community in Johor, Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in October 2022 at a community residential area in Muar, Johor. Self-administered General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were used to measure psychological distress and satisfaction with life, respectively. Multiple logistic regression was utilized for the analysis with the significant level set at 5%. Out of 279 respondents, 36.2% (95% CI=36.2%, 42.0%) of them were having psychological distress. Younger age, Chinese, individuals with a primary education and those who were not satisfied with life were significantly associated with psychological distress. In summary, one-third of the population in the community reported psychological distress, with preponderance among certain groups of people. It is important to implement interventions effectively such as community activities in the target population to lower the psychological distress in the community