Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Malaysia, 2010 - 2016: a comprehensive meta-analysis

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Malaysia has been reported in numerous studies, but with inconsistent findings, and no meta-analysis has been conducted to evaluate the findings of these studies. This meta-analysis investigated the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Malaysia based on independent observational studies from 2010 to 2016. Systematic literature search was performed in PubMed database based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Heterogeneity for each subgroup analysis was determined using I2 index and Q test. Funnel plot as well as Begg’s and Egger’s tests were employed to evaluate publication bias. Following a detailed assessment, 18 eligible studies involving 20,751 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. All pooled prevalence rates were determined using random effect model based on significance of heterogeneity observed (I2>80% and p<0.001). Overall, the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in Malaysia was 25.0% and 13.1%, respectively. When stratified to gender, prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher in females than in males. No publication bias was identified

Evaluation of microbial contamination on contact lenses among university students

Microbial keratitis is affecting approximately 4 to 5 per 10,000 contact lens wearers worldwide and the severity of the disease depends on the type of microbial species contaminating the contact lens. As the number of contact lens wearer increases globally, including Malaysia, in the past ten years, there is a need to identify the type of microbial species that contaminates contact lenses among Malaysians, especially among college students. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate microbial contamination on contact lenses among university students and the habits of the contact lens wearers within the university facility. A total of 67 pairs used contact lens samples were collected. CFU/ mL was calculated based on colonies grown on nutrient agar to represent the microbial population density. Gram staining was performed for all pure cultures with different morphologies. Two major groups of contaminants with different morphologies were subjected to identification using biochemical tests. Our results suggested that 41.79 % of the samples collected were contaminated with microbes and the contamination status was significantly different between genders and duration of contact lens wearing per usage (p < 0.05). Besides, monthly disposable contact lenses had the highest contamination rate with a mean of 2.41 x 103 CFU/ mL when compared to daily and quarter-yearly (3 months) contact lenses. Gram staining showed that 88.47 % of microbial contamination was Gram negative, mainly represented by Vibrio spp. and Aeromonas spp.. Our study unexpectedly found that contact lenses among university students were contaminated with microbes that might be found in the tap water used to wash their hands

Risk association, linkage disequilibrium and haplotype analyses of FASN rs4246445, rs2229425, rs2228305 and rs2229422 polymorphisms in overweight and obesity

Introduction: Obesity is commonly linked up with several life-threatening diseases. This study aims to investigate the association of fatty acid synthase (FASN) rs4246445, rs2229425, rs2228305, and rs2229422 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the risk of overweight and obesity in the Malaysian population. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 1030 individuals who were grouped into normal, overweight, and obese categories. Blood biochemistry test and lipid profiling were performed and genomic DNA was extracted. Genotyping was performed using hydrolysis probes and odd ratio with 95% CI was calculated for risk association analysis. Linkage disequilibrium and haplotypes analyses were carried out using SHEsis software. Results: We found that the hemoglobin and white blood cell counts were significantly high in the obese subjects. There is a lack of evidence to link the FASN SNPs with the risk of overweight and obesity in the population. All 4 SNPs were seemed to be in linkage equilibrium. Five common haplotypes were identified in this study but none of them was significantly associated with overweight and obesity in the population. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a lack of evidence to associate the FASN rs4246445, rs2229425, rs2228305, and rs2229422 SNPs with the risk of overweight and obesity in the Malaysian population. All 4 SNPs were independent of each other and not all identified haplotypes were significantly associated with overweight and obesity in this study

Prevalence of Alpha(α)-Thalassemia in Southeast Asia (2010–2020): A Meta-Analysis Involving 83,674 Subjects

Alpha(α)-thalassemia is a blood disorder caused by many types of inheritable α-globin gene mutations which causes no-to-severe clinical symptoms, such as Hb Bart’s hydrops fetalis that leads to early foetal death. Therefore, the aim of this meta-analysis was to provide an update from year 2010 to 2020 on the prevalence of α-thalassemia in Southeast Asia. A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed and SCOPUS databases for related studies published from 2010 to 2020, based on specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. Heterogeneity of included studies was examined with the I2 index and Q-test. Funnel plots and Egger’s tests were performed in order to determine publication bias in this meta-analysis. Twenty-nine studies with 83,674 subjects were included and pooled prevalence rates in this meta-analysis were calculated using random effect models based on high observed heterogeneity (I2 > 99.5, p-value < 0.1). Overall, the prevalence of α-thalassemia is 22.6%. The highest α-thalassemia prevalence was observed in Vietnam (51.5%) followed by Cambodia (39.5%), Laos (26.8%), Thailand (20.1%), and Malaysia (17.3%). No publication bias was detected. Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggested that a high prevalence of α-thalassemia occurred in selected Southeast Asia countries. This meta-analysis data are useful for designing thalassemia screening programs and improve the disease management

Prevalence of Thalassemia in Southeast Asia

Thalassemia is a hereditary red blood cell disorder. It is due to globin gene mutations in either alpha and/or beta globin genes resulting imbalance in numbers of alpha (a) and beta (b) chains in red blood cells. There are two major types of thalassemia which are a- and beta- thalassemia, in which the former is the most common form of thalassemia worldwide especially in Southeast Asia populations. We report here the analysis of the prevalence rate of 83,674 subjects in Southeast Asia. The pooled prevalence rates were calculated using random effect models based on high observed heterogeneity (I2 > 99.5, p-value < 0.1). The prevalence of a- thalassemia is 22.6% in Southeast Asia. The highest a-thalassemia prevalence was observed in Vietnam (51.5%) followed by Cambodia (39.5%), Laos (26.8%), Thailand (20.1%), and Malaysia (17.3%). This study suggested that a high prevalence of alpha thalassemia occurred in selected Southeast Asia countries and provides a perspective to design healthcare policies with better genetic counselling programs for thalassemia in large populations

RsaI but not DraI polymorphism in CYP2E1 gene increases the risk of gastrointestinal cancer in Malaysians: a case control study

Objectives: Our study aimed to investigate the association of CYP2E1 C-1019T RsaI and T7678A DraI polymorphisms and factors such as age, gender and ethnicity to the risk of gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) in Malaysians. Design: Case-control study. Setting: Malaysia. Participants: 520 consented healthy blood donors with no previous GIC record and 175 patients with GIC. Measurements: C-1019T RsaI and T7678A DraI genotyping of CYP2E1 gene; direct sequencing. Results: This study reveals that the variant c2 allele and carrier with at least one c2 allele of C-1019T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) significantly increased the risk of GIC but no significant association was found between T7678A SNP and combined analysis of C-1019T and T7678A SNPs to risk of GIC. The Malaysian Chinese had greater risk of GIC compared with the Malays, Indians and KadazanDusun. An increased risk of GIC was observed in individuals aged >40 years and women had a 2.22-fold and 1.58-fold increased risk of stomach and colorectal cancers, respectively, when compared with men. Limitations: The future research should be conducted with a larger sample population and including the gene-gene and gene-environmental interactions. Conclusions: Our study suggests that the rare c2 allele and carrier with at least one c2 allele of CYP2E1 RsaI polymorphism significantly elevated the risk of GIC and may be used as a genetic biomarker for early screening of GIC in Malaysians. The risk age-group has been shifted to a younger age at 40s and women showed a significant greater risk of stomach and colorectal cancers than men

STK15 Phe31Ile and Val57Ile polymorphisms increase the risk of gastrointestinal cancer

STK15 is a serine/threonine kinase that regulates chromosomal segregation during mitosis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in this gene, Phe31Ile (rs2273535) and Val57Ile (rs1047972), are inconsistently associated with gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) across different populations. However, this association is unclear in Malaysian population. Therefore, this study investigated the association of STK15 Phe31Ile and Val57Ile polymorphisms to GIC risk in Malaysia. Genomic DNA was extracted from 185 GIC patients and 1110 healthy controls and was subjected to polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. SNPs were further confirmed using sequencing. We found that the 31Phe allele and 31Phe/Phe genotype in the Phe31Ile SNP significantly increased GIC risk in Malaysian population, particularly in gastric cancer (p<0.017). The combined analysis for both SNPs also increased the risk of GIC in this study. Etiological factors such as age, gender and ethnicity were not associated with GIC in the population. This is the first study to report the association of STK15 Phe31Ile and Val57Ile SNPs with an increased risk of GIC in Malaysians; the 31Phe allele is exclusively associated with the risk of gastric cancer. In addition, GIC incidences among Malaysians have significantly shifted to a younger age (<50 years)

Molecular detection of human Plasmodium species in Sabah using PlasmoNextm multiplex PCR and hydrolysis probes real-time PCR

BACKGROUND: Malaria is a vector borne-parasitic disease transmitted through the bite of the infective female Anopheles mosquitoes. Five Plasmodium species have been recognized by World Health Organization (WHO) as the causative agents of human malaria. Generally, microscopic examination is the gold standard for routine malaria diagnosis. However, molecular PCR assays in many cases have shown improvement on the sensitivity and specificity over microscopic or other immunochromatographic assays. METHODS: The present study attempts to screen 207 suspected malaria samples from patients seeking treatment in clinics around Sabah state, Malaysia, using two panels of multiplex PCRs, conventional PCR system (PlasmoNex™) and real-time PCR based on hydrolysis probe technology. Discordance results between two PCR assays were further confirmed by sequencing using 18S ssu rRNA species-specific primers. RESULTS: Of the 207 malaria samples, Plasmodium knowlesi (73.4% vs 72.0%) was the most prevalent species based on two PCR assays, followed by Plasmodium falciparum (15.9% vs 17.9%), and Plasmodium vivax (9.7% vs 7.7%), respectively. Neither Plasmodium malariae nor Plasmodium ovale was detected in this study. Nine discrepant species identification based on both the PCR assays were further confirmed through DNA sequencing. Species-specific real-time PCR only accurately diagnosed 198 of 207 (95.7%) malaria samples up to species level in contrast to PlasmoNex™ assay which had 100% sensitivity and specificity based on sequencing results. CONCLUSIONS: Multiplex PCR accelerate the speed in the diagnosis of malaria. The PlasmoNex™ PCR assay seems to be more accurate than real-time PCR in the speciation of all five human malaria parasites. The present study also showed a significant increase of the potential fatal P. knowlesi infection in Sabah state as revealed by molecular PCR assays

Risk association, linkage disequilibrium, and haplotype analyses of ß-like globin gene polymorphisms with malaria risk in the Sabah population of Malaysian Borneo

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the β-like globin gene of the human hosts to the risk of malaria are unclear. Therefore, this study investigates these associations in the Sabah population, with a high incidence of malaria cases. In brief, DNA was extracted from 188 post-diagnostic blood samples infected with Plasmodium parasites and 170 healthy controls without a history of malaria. Genotyping of the β-like globin C-158T, G79A, C16G, and C-551T SNPs was performed using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism approach. Risk association, linkage disequilibrium (LD), and haplotype analyses of these SNPs were assessed. This study found that the variant allele in the C-158T and C16G SNPs were protective against malaria infections by 0.5-fold, while the variant allele in the G79A SNP had a 6-fold increased risk of malaria infection. No SNP combination was in perfect LD, but several haplotypes (CGCC, CGCT, and CGGC) were identified to link with different correlation levels of malaria risk in the population. In conclusion, the C-158T, G79A, and C16G SNPs in the β-like globin gene are associated with the risk of malaria. The haplotypes (CGCC, CGCT, and CGGC) identified in this study could serve as biomarkers to estimate malaria risk in the population. This study provides essential data for the design of malaria control and management strategies

Dataset of the complete genome of Streptomyces cavourensis strain 2BA6PGT isolated from sediment from the bottom of the salt lake Verkhnee Beloe (Buryatia, Russia)

The Streptomyces cavourensis strain 2BA6PGT was isolated from sediment from the bottom of the salt lake Verkhnee Beloe (Buryatia, Russia). This strain’s 7,651,223 bp complete genome has a high G + C content of 72.1% and consists of 7,069 coding sequences and 315 subsystems. The 16S ribosomal RNA of isolate 2BA6PGT was most closely related to Streptomyces cavourensis strain NBRC 13026T (98.91% identity), followed by Streptomyces bacillaris strain ATCC 15855T (95.36%), Streptomyces rhizosphaericola strain 1AS2cT (94.68%), and Streptomyces pluricolorescens strain JCM 4602T (86.75%). These comparisons were supported by pairwise comparisons using average nucleotide identity (ANI) and DNA-DNA hybridization analysis. This is the first complete genome reported on Streptomyces cavourensis isolated from sediment from the bottom of the salt lake Verkhnee Beloe