Psychiatric disorders among young male adult prisoners: a cross sectional study in a Malaysian prison

Introduction: In recent years there has been an increase in the number of young people in prison. This study is the firstto look at the proportion of psychiatric disorders among young adultprisoners. Objective: The main objective is to determine the percentage of psychiatric disorders among young adult male prisoners. Method: A cross sectional study of young adult male prisoners, with ages ranged between 18 and 21 years old, was conducted between September and December, 2008 at the Kajang Prison. A total of 225 inmates participated in the study which used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) as its instrument. Results: The percentage of psychiatric disorders was 60.0%. Alcohol and substance related disorders had the highest prevalence at 50.2%, followed by Major Depressive Disorders and Dysthymia at 16.9%. About 39.6% were observed to have antisocial personality disordet Psychiatric disorders were found to have significant differences (p<O.05) in connection with parental marriage and recidivism. Conclusion: This study shows that the percentage of psychiatric disorders, especially substance related disorders, is high among young male adult prisoners. It highlights the urgent need for early intervention for this group of young people

Executive function and attention span in euthymic patients with bipolar 1 disorder.

This is a cross secti onal co mparison study to assess executive function and attention span in euthymic p atients with bipolar 1 disorder. It compares the performance of these two cogn itive domains in 40 patients with bipolar 1 disorder to that of 40 healthy normal subjects using Trail Maki ng (TMT), Digit Span (Forward and Backward) and Ver bal Fluency (VF) tests. The association between demographic, clinical characteristics and performance in all tests were examined. Patients wit h bipola r illness showed significant impairment with moderate to large e ffect siz es (VF= 0.67, TMT A= 0.52, TMT B = 0.81, Digit Forward= 0.97, Digit ba ckward= 1.10) in all tasks of executive and atte ntion functioning. These impairments a re observed in the absence of active mood symptoms while duration and severity of illness are not found to have an e ffect on both cognitive domains. Medications received by patients with bipolar disorder have significant association with performance on executive tasks. The results of this study add on to the existing global evidence of cognitive impair ment in bipolar illness despite its cross cultural differences. Its presenc e in the absence of mania, depression or mixed episode indicates that cognitive impairmen t is stable even af ter symptoms recovery

Motor neurological soft signs among patients with schizophrenia: a clinical significance

Neurological soft signs (NSS) are subtle indicators of brain dysfunction which are present in excess among patients with schizophrenia. Its clinical significance remains unclear despite extensive researches in this area. The objective of this work was to determine the proportion of Schizophrenia patients who have motor NSS and then to compare the clinical features between these two groups; with and without motor NSS. This cross-sectional study which utilized the brief motor scale (BMS) was used to investigate the presence of motor NSS in 80 schizophrenia patients who attended Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMCC) Psychiatric clinic. The diagnosis of Schizophrenia was confirmed by mini international neuropsychiatic interview (MINI). Symptomatology and abnormal motor movement were assessed using the brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS) and abnormal involuntary movement scale (AIMS), respectively. A brief battery of cognitive tests covering aspects of attention, working memory and executive function was administered. The bivariate analyses were applied to look for any relationship between the study factors. Majority of schizophrenia patients (68.8%) in this study have motor NSS. The motor NSS were associated with ethnic group, level of education, age of onset, duration of illness and performance in cognitive assessment; verbal fluency, digit span forward, digit span backward and trail making B (p<0.05) but not with trail making A. The assessment of motor NSS represents a brief, inexpensive and meaningful tool in assessing the cognitive functions in schizophrenia. It has the potential as an illness marker and a link between neurobiological research and clinical practice

A phenomenological study on the lives of low-income working mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study explores the lived experience of low-income (B40) working mothers in Klang Valley during the COVID-19 pandemic. It sheds light on their mental health struggles and unexpected silver linings. Eight participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling. A seven-day diary-writing exercise followed by individual interviews was conducted. Data analysis is based on descriptive phenomenology, allowing in-depth exploration of participants' experiences. Three main themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Multitasking is too taxing, highlighting the intensified role conflict faced by some mothers; (2) Struggling to regulate emotions, revealing the guilt and emotional challenges these mothers experienced as they juggled multiple roles; and (3) The upside of COVID-19, demonstrating how some participants found unexpected benefits in increased family bonding during lockdowns. In sum, low-income working mothers faced significant mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated by their unique circumstances. The findings underscore the importance of recognising their struggles and the need for interventions that promote their mental well-being. Additionally, providing training in emotional resilience and self-regulation could prove beneficial. This study contributes to the understanding of the nuanced experiences of low-income working mothers and calls for continued attention to their mental health needs, particularly in times of crisis

The stress of caregiving: a study of family caregivers of breast cancer patients receiving oncologic treatment at a Malaysian General Hospital

Many studies among caregivers of breast cancer patients have revealed that stress affects a significant proportion of this particular group. The situation among caregivers of breast cancer patients in Malaysia was however not known. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the proportion of the family caregivers who experienced stress while caring for the breast cancer patients who were on oncologic treatment in Kuala Lumpur Hospital and factors which predict the stress among these caregivers. A total of 130 family caregiver-breast cancer patient dyads who were attending the Institute of Radiotherapy & Oncology, Kuala Lumpur Hospital during a 3-month study period were recruited by non-random sampling method. The caregivers’ stress was measured using the stress domain of the depression, anxiety, stress scale (DASS-21) while other data obtained included the patients’ and caregivers’ socio demographic status, the patients’ illness characteristics and the caregiving factors and the caregivers’ perceived social support. About 1 in 4 (24.6%; n=32) caregivers of breast cancer patients were stressed. Duration of caregiving, sharing of caregiving burden, patients’ age and patients’ functionality were found to be significantly associated with stress (p value <0.05). All these factors, except for duration of caregiving, continue to be significant in the logistic regression analysis (p value <0.05). This study found that a high proportion of the family caregivers experienced stress. Identification of the predictors of stress among the caregivers may help in the prevention strategies of stress in this group of caregivers

Diversity of Fusarium species isolated from soil cultivated with cucurbits within East Coast, Peninsular Malaysia.

Fungi in the genus Fusarium are well known as soil-borne pathogen with worldwide distribution. Therefore, this study focused on isolation of Fusarium species from soil cultivated with watermelons, muskmelon, pumpkins, and cucumber in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia by using dilution plate technique, direct plating and debris plating. The highest number of Fusarium species isolated was F. oxysporum with 687 (26.2%) colonies counted based on colony formation unit (CFU); the colonies of Fusarium/g soil = mean of Fusarium colonies x dilution factor/weight of dried soil (g). Other Fusarium species isolated were F. semitectum, F. solani, F. proliferatum, F. subglutinans and F. chlamydosporum. Throughout the studies, peptone pentachloronitrobenzene (PPA) medium, potato dextrose agar (PDA) and carnation leaf-piece agar (CLA) were regularly used to identify each Fusarium species by morphological means. Based on the Shannon-Weiner Index, Fusarium species diversity is much higher in Besut, Terengganu (H’=1.59). Fusarium species can be considered as a functionally important biological component of Fusarium fruit rot disease study in cucurbitsPeer reviewe

Morphology study of the proximal femur in Malay population

Clinical practice in our country showed a lack of suitable implants that perfectly match the anthropometry of the local population. However, there have been no reports or comprehensive studies conducted to substantiate this argument. We therefore prospectively studied 120 hips from sixty subjects with an average age of 25±5.18 years old. The average weight and height were 61.48±13.84 kg and 1.65±9.63 m respectively. The exclusion criteria were pregnant woman, those who had injury to the hip joint, and those with implant or prosthesis. Four parameters were measured ­ the femoral head diameter (FHD), femoral neck length (FNL), femoral neck width (FNW) and collo-diaphyseal angle (CDA). Statistical analysis showed no significant differences between left and right femora but significant differences were found between male and female subjects. The results for the male and female femurs are as follows ­ FHD: 43.6±3.1 mm and 38.9±2.2 mm; FNL: 91.1±5.7 mm and 81.8±4.3 mm; FNW: 28.9±3.4 mm and 26.0±4.3 mm; CDA: 132.3°±3.4° and 129.9°±4.0°. This data could be used as a guideline to design a more suitable implant for the Malay population which covers most of the South East Asian countries

Morphometric study of the acetabular in malay population normal hips and its clinical applications

The morphology study of acetabular is vital in clinical applications particularly through planning before acetabulum surgery and for determining the dysplastic hip. Several studies show that the acetabular morphology varies between populations; which lead to the difficulty to align the implant by following western standard. This prospective, cross sectional study focused on Malay population by providing essential information regarding normal value of acetabular which will enhance knowledge of the anatomical aspects and eventually aiding the acetabular cup placement during Total hip arthroplasty (THA). The acetabular images were obtained using computed tomography scanner and the measurement has been taken from 120 hips. We excluded from the study: pregnant woman, experienced hips injury, wearing implant or prosthesis. Our data were compared using Kolmogorov-Smirnov method and t-test. The findings for the acetabular as follows: center edge angle (CE) 31.69±5.48°; acetabular index angle (AA) 4.27±4.03°; acetabular angle of Sharp 42.35±3.24°; acetabular version (AcetAV) 14.99±5.05°; acetabular depth (AD) 15.49±1.70 mm; joint space width (JSW) 5.84±0.80 mm; anterior acetabular sector angle (AASA) 61.19±6.72°; posterior acetabular sector angle (PASA) 92.80±6.27°. This study documents for the first time the acetabular morphometric value on Malay population which will improve data, aiding the orthopedic surgeons during acetabular placements in THA and designing better implant

Factors correlated with internet gaming disorder among Malaysian university students

Introduction: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has recently been incorporated into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (DSM-5) as a disorder for future research. The primary objectives of the present study are to describe the level of IGD and to examine its correlations with sociodemographic factors and psychological comorbidities among undergraduate students in a Malaysian university. Methods: A total of 411 undergraduate students completed an online questionnaire. They were selected from a random sample of participating university faculties. The online questionnaire contained the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form and the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale. Results: The presents study reported that 52.8% of the participants had high IGH. Using hierarchical multiple regression, age (β = -0.09, p < 0.05), gender (β = -0.40, p < 0.001) and stress (β = 0.23, p < 0.05) were statistically significant predictors of IGD. Academic performance, depression and anxiety did not emerge as significant predictors. Conclusion: These findings highlight the risk factors (in particular, stress) of IGD. Further studies on interventions, particular that of preventative strategies, will be needed to combat this emerging public health problem