Cell phones usage and cancers: a review

Background: Certain electromagnetic fields (at extremely low frequency) have been recognized as possibly carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Given the use of radiofrequency technology in cell phones, the rapid increase in the number of cell phones has generated concerns about the existence of a potential health hazard. Use of cellular telephones is increasing exponentially and has become part of everyday life. Concerns about possible carcinogenic effects of radiofrequency signals have been raised, although they are based on limited scientific evidence. Thus, a scoping systematic review was to ascertain this. Materials and Methods: Full-text articles on Cohort studies and/or randomized controlled trials published from 1st January 2000 to 8th June 2016 were searched using Proquest and other sources. People of all age group and cellular phones users were the type of participant and exposure used for the search strategy, respectively. Data collection was done by 1 reviewer and checked by 2 reviewers for discrepancies. All the papers were critically appraised using the STROBE statement. Qualitative synthesis was done by descriptive comparison, risk of bias comparison and effect of exposure comparison. Result: 5 out of 15 articles met the eligibility criteria and were selected. Four articles showed low risk of bias due to low confounding bias. One article had high risk of bias due to information bias. All five articles showed low quality evidences using GRADE. There was no evidence for a dose–response relationship for these cancers based on number of years as a subscriber. Analyses by anatomic location of the brain tumors within the head revealed no unusual clustering that could be related to increased exposure to RF radiation from cellular telephones. The absence of statistically significant increases in cancer risks applied equally to analogue and digital systems. Therefore, it can be said that there is no association of exposure with the studied cancers. Conclusion: There were no insufficient evidence to implicate and suggest that the usage of cell phones exposure towards cancer occurrence. All studies showed that exposure to cell phone usage, regardless the time of exposure, the onset or the duration can give a significant results of association towards cancer. However, due to small number of studies obtained from this scoping systematic review, results from this review should be interpreted with caution

Spatial distribution of knowledge, attitude and practice on leptospirosis prevention and its predictors using stratum risk identification methods among residents in a flood prone area in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia

Leptospirosis is a preventable zoonosis of public health importance. Due to seasonal floods and paucity of studies regarding leptospirosis preventive practices in community setting in this country, a study was conducted to determine spatial distribution of knowledge, attitude and practice on leptospirosis preventive practices using stratum risk identification methods among residents in a flood prone area in Kuantan via Geographical Information System (GIS). A cross-sectional study was conducted in Perkampungan Sungai Isap, Kuantan, Pahang, which obtained 568 respondents by stratified proportionate random sampling technique. Data were collected using a validated guided questionnaire. Geographical coordinates were obtained using Garmin gpsmap 62s. Multivariate logistic regression was done using SPSS version 22.0 and spatial mapping using ArcGIS version 9. The response rate was 83.4%. Flood-risk strata were divided into high risk (less than 500 metres), medium risk (500 to 1000 metres) and low risk (more than 1000 metres). Linear measurements were made using ArcMap. Overall, majority (68%) of the respondents had good knowledge. However, only 38% of the respondents had satisfactory attitude and 18% had satisfactory practice. Spatial mapping showed that the lower the stratum risk towards flooding, the poorer the preventive practices. Multivariate logistic regression showed the predictors of satisfactory leptospirosis preventive practices were high-risk stratum (aOR=4.28, 95% CI [1.92, 9.57], P < 0.001), good knowledge (aOR=1.73, 95% CI [1.04, 2.90], P < 0.05) and age group 30 to 39 (aOR=0.30, 95% CI [0.11, 0.83], P < 0.05). In conclusion, GIS is a valuable tool for leptospirosis surveillance by facilitating disease prevention programmes to targeted risk areas. © 2018, Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology

Hot-spot and cluster analysis on legal and illegal dumping sites as the contributors of leptospirosis in a flood hazard area in Pahang, Malaysia

Background: Leptospirosis is one of the zoonotic diseases which pose major public health issues worldwide. The spread of leptospirosis depends on the climate conditions as well as environmental conditions. Methods: The cases of leptospirosis were determined by using database obtained from Ministry of Health, Malaysia. Case cluster and hot spot analysis within Geographical Information System (GIS) were done using ArcGIS version 9.3. Level of significance was set at alpha= 0.05. Results: Most of the cases were at the centre Pahang located along the flood hazard stream. Cluster analysis indicated that cases were mostly clustered near illegal and legal dumping sites. The outliers were Jerantut, Maran, Pekan, and Rompin in both maps (p<0.05). The hot spot analysis obtained an obvious trend in the legal dumping compared to the illegal dumping. The hot spot area was found in the middle of Pahang such as in Jerantut, Temerloh, Maran, Pekan, and Rompin. Conclusions Increasing flood risk, poor sanitation and abundance of rats are conditions that trigger leptospirosis outbreaks. Interventions are therefore needed, targeting at environmental sources of transmission namely open legal and illegal dumping sites as well as flooding in flood hazard areas. A refined waste management system is needed to control the spread of the disease

Combating covid-19 : our management at the campus level

In Malaysia, Covid-19 has caused severe morbidity and mortality. Most people have been affected, including the university community. The spread of the virus has put the campus in peril. Covid-19 Kulliyyah (Faculty) Task Force was established to deal with covid-19 issues at our level. After the establishment of the task force, we faced difficulties in managing the students manually, especially in terms of contract tracing

Determinants of leptospirosis preventive practices among the community in a flood-prone residential area in Kuantan, Malaysia

Introduction: Leptospirosis is a preventable zoonosis of public health importance. Due to increasing incidence of leptospirosis and seasonal floods affecting Kuantan community, a study was conducted to identify the determinants of leptospirosis preventive practices. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Perkampungan Sungai Isap, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia, which obtained 568 respondents by stratified proportionate random sampling technique. Data was collected using a modified guided questionnaire and analysed using IBM SPSS version 22.0. Results: Majority of the respondents were females (52.6%), Malay ethnicity (98.8%), attended up to secondary school (57.2%), worked in low-risk occupational group (96.0%) and reside in moderate-risk stratum (55.6%). Overall, majority (68%) of the respondents had good knowledge. However, only 38% of the respondents had satisfactory attitude and 18% had satisfactory practice. There were significant associations between stratum and leptospirosis preventive practices (χ2 =11.84, df=2, p=0.003), age group and leptospirosis preventive practices (χ2 =7.41, df=2, p=0.03) and personal income and leptospirosis preventive practices (χ2 =6.32, df=1, p=0.01). Multivariate logistic regression showed that the predictors of satisfactory leptospirosis preventive practices were high-risk stratum (aOR: 3.69, 95% CI: 1.71-8.00, p=0.001) and monthly personal income of less than RM1000 (aOR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.05-2.59, p=0.03). Conclusions: Leptospirosis can be prevented by having adequate awareness regarding the disease through health promotional activities especially before, during and after flooding, targeting more on those in low to moderate risk areas and higher income group to prevent potential outbreaks

Determinants of leptospirosis preventive practices among the community in a flood-prone residential area in Kuantan, Malaysia

Introduction: Leptospirosis is a preventable zoonosis of public health importance. Due to increasing incidence of leptospirosis and seasonal floods affecting Kuantan community, a study was conducted to identify the determinants of leptospirosis preventive practices. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Perkampungan Sungai Isap, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia, which obtained 568 respondents by stratified proportionate random sampling technique. Data was collected using a modified guided questionnaire and analysed using IBM SPSS version 22.0. Results: Majority of the respondents were females (52.6%), Malay ethnicity (98.8%), attended up to secondary school (57.2%), worked in low-risk occupational group (96.0%) and reside in moderate-risk stratum (55.6%). Overall, majority (68%) of the respondents had good knowledge. However, only 38% of the respondents had satisfactory attitude and 18% had satisfactory practice. There were significant associations between stratum and leptospirosis preventive practices (χ2=11.84, df=2, p=0.003), age group and leptospirosis preventive practices (χ2=7.41, df=2, p=0.03) and personal income and leptospirosis preventive practices (χ2=6.32, df=1, p=0.01). Multivariate logistic regression showed that the predictors of satisfactory leptospirosis preventive practices were high-risk stratum (aOR: 3.69, 95% CI: 1.71-8.00, p=0.001) and monthly personal income of less than RM1000 (aOR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.05-2.59, p=0.03). Conclusions: Leptospirosis can be prevented by having adequate awareness regarding the disease through health promotional activities especially before, during and after flooding, targeting more on those in low to moderate risk areas and higher income group to prevent potential outbreaks

Screen media dependency among pre-school children in Kuala Lumpur and its associated factors

Earlier and prolonged screen media exposure to young children is associated with negative health concerns. Not much is known about screen media dependency among preschool children. This study aimed to measure its prevalence and associated factors among preschool children in Kuala Lumpu

Diabetes control among elderly diabetic patients in Kuantan, Malaysia

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND The transformation of the aging population in Malaysia carries a significant healthcare burden in chronic diseases like Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D). METHODOLOGY This study aims to measure the patients’ diabetes control and to identify its related factors among elderly diabetic patients in Kuantan. This cross-sectional study was conducted in six selected government health clinics in Kuantan (chosen from stratified random sampling) where 300 elderly patients with T2D were recruited via proportionate random sampling. The related factors studied were sociodemographic profile, health and treatment characteristics and quality of life using the RVDQOL13 questionnaire. The data were analysed using SPSS version 26. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 68.1 years old (SD=6.009). Most patients were female (57.3%), Malay (70.3%), married (66%), living independently (Modified Barthel Index = 99%) and from B40 (96.3%). The prevalence of good diabetes control was 59.3% (cut-off point = HbA1c ≤7.5%). The significant predictors for good diabetes control identified were non-Malay (aOR = 3.92, 95%CI 1.907-8.060, p <0.001), treatment with insulin injection (aOR = 0.193, 95%CI 0.094- 0.395, p <0.001), abnormal capillary blood glucose (CBG) (aOR = 0.655, 95%CI 0.489-0.878, p <0.001), having higher LDL-C (aOR = 0.655, 95%CI 0.489-0.878, p = 0.005), and poor satisfactory impact from RV-DQOL13 (aOR = 0.919, 95%CI 0.884-0.954, p <0.001). CONCLUSION Elderly diabetic patients in Kuantan have good diabetes control. However, follow-up for this group needs to be emphasized among Malay patients, those on insulin treatment, poor CBG during TCA, high LDL-C and those who are unsatisfied with diabetes care to maintain good diabetes control prevalence