Evaluation of Smoking Status among Diabetes Patients in the State of Penang, Malaysia

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of smoking among diabetes patients attending Diabetes Outpatient Clinic at Penang General Hospital, Penang, Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the smoking status of all the patients that registered at the above clinic. The data were extracted from the diabetes patients’ medical records. Between June 1st 2010 and June 30th 2011, all medical records of type 1 and 2 diabetes patients were reviewed to assess the prevalence of smoking. Results: Of 2547 diabetes patients, 447 patients were excluded from the analysis as their smoking status was unknown, leaving 2100 diabetes patients whose smoking status was determined. The prevalence of smoking in diabetes patients was estimated at 8 %. Smokers had shorter duration of diabetes mellitus than non-smokers (6.70 ± 5.16 vs. 8.42 ± 6.66; respectively, p = 0.001). Smoking was significantly associated with male gender and younger age (p < 0.0001). Chinese diabetes patients were the most prevalent race among smokers, compared with Malay and Indian (50.3, 30.5 and 19.2 %, respectively); however, the differences were statistically not significant , p = 0.219). Conclusion: The prevalence of smoking among diabetes patients of the Malaysian clinic at Penang studied was low. On the other hand, smoking status was inadequately documented and no information was available on the history of tobacco use in diabetes smokers

Development and Psychometric Properties of a Tuberculosis-Specific Multidimensional Health-Related Quality-of-Life Measure for Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Background: Various generic instruments exist to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with tuberculosis (TB), but a psychometrically sound disease-specific instrument is lacking. Objectives: The present study aimed to develop and psychometrically validate a multidimensional TB-specific HRQOL instrument relevant to the value of patients with pulmonary TB in Iraq with an eye toward cross-cultural application. Methods: The core general HRQOL questionnaire is composed of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General items. A modular approach was followed for the development of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Tuberculosis (FACIT-TB) questionnaire in which a set of items assessing quality-of-life (QOL) issues not sufficiently covered by the core Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General items, but considered to be relevant to the target population, was added. Moreover, principal-component analysis was used to determine the new subscale structure of the questionnaire. Results: In addition to the 27 items of the core questionnaire, a set of 20 items referring to disease symptoms related to the site of infection, adverse effects, and additional QOL dimensions such as fatigue, social stigma, and economic burden of the illness was included. Factor analysis demonstrated that the FACIT-TB construct comprised five domains. Conclusions: A rigorous method was applied in the development of the FACIT-TB measure to fully understand the impact of TB on patients' QOL. The instrument is psychometrically sound and portrays multiple important dimensions of HRQOL. FACIT-TB is relatively brief, is easy to administer and score, and is appropriate for use in clinical trials and practice. 2015 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR).Scopu

Evaluation of Smoking Status among Diabetes Patients in the State of Penang, Malaysia

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of smoking among diabetes patients attending Diabetes Outpatient Clinic at Penang General Hospital, Penang, Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the smoking status of all the patients that registered at the above clinic. The data were extracted from the diabetes patients’ medical records. Between June 1st 2010 and June 30th 2011, all medical records of type 1 and 2 diabetes patients were reviewed to assess the prevalence of smoking. Results: Of 2547 diabetes patients, 447 patients were excluded from the analysis as their smoking status was unknown, leaving 2100 diabetes patients whose smoking status was determined. The prevalence of smoking in diabetes patients was estimated at 8 %. Smokers had shorter duration of diabetes mellitus than non-smokers (6.70 ± 5.16 vs. 8.42 ± 6.66; respectively, p = 0.001). Smoking was significantly associated with male gender and younger age (p < 0.0001). Chinese diabetes patients were the most prevalent race among smokers, compared with Malay and Indian (50.3, 30.5 and 19.2 %, respectively); however, the differences were statistically not significant , p = 0.219). Conclusion: The prevalence of smoking among diabetes patients of the Malaysian clinic at Penang studied was low. On the other hand, smoking status was inadequately documented and no information was available on the history of tobacco use in diabetes smokers