Epidemiological investigations into factors associated with hock lesions, lameness and fertility in dairy cattle

An investigation of 5186 hock maps, from 3691 cows with hair loss on the hocks from 76 UK dairy farms, identified six risk factors associated with area of hair loss: higher locomotion score; poor cleanliness; higher mean milk yield; low body condition score, prolonged winter housing and certain combinations of stall base and bedding materials. Another finding was significantly poor correlation between a categorical scale and the continuous measure of hair loss. Hair loss on the hocks of 70 heifers (three herds) was observed monthly from Sep 2008-Mar 2010. The results imply that lameness precedes hair loss on the hock and not vice versa, i.e. lame animals develop hair loss rather than hock hair loss leads to future lameness. Poor cleanliness score and higher milk yield were associated positively with the risk of having hair loss on the hock. Based on the total 6889 observations from 731 cows in four herds, cows with a greater decrease in BCS (compared to BCS at calving) had higher probability of becoming lame and lower probability of recovering. Also, increase in BCS from calving was associated with lower probability of cows moving from non-lame to lame state and higher probability from lame to non-lame. Days of lactation, months of calving and parity impacted upon both non-lame to lame and lame to non-lame transitions. Analysis of 678 cows from four herds found that cows with chronic lameness had a lower probability of conception and a longer calving to conception period compared with healthy cows. Further, cows with lower average BCS had a lower probability of conception and were more likely to be lame. However, these factors didn’t influence the likelihood of an individual AI leading to pregnancy

Timing and prognostic factors of tuberculosis treatment interruption

The global Tuberculosis epidemic (TB) poses a significant public health threat. While the consequences of TB treatment interruption are indisputable, the knowledge about the timing and prognostic factors of TB treatment interruption is fundamental. Despite a considerable amount of evaluation, the timing and prognostic factors of TB treatment interruption have been inconsistently identified from one study to another. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the evidence obtained from published literature on the timing and prognostic factors of TB treatment interruption at different points of the treatment course. In this review, three databases namely Pubmed, Scopus, and Science Direct were used to identify articles published from January 2003 to February 2018. This was based on the inclusion criteria and keywords including ‘default’, ‘survival time’, ‘tuberculosis’, and ‘treatment interruption’. The nine selected studies were prospective and retrospective cohort studies conducted in developing countries. The diversity of the study’s participants and TB treatment interruption definition were allowed, thus delineating a heterogeneous finding. This review suggests that the interruption predominantly occurred during the maintenance phase of treatment course. Despite the finding, a considerable gap in understanding the prognostic factors at different time points of TB treatment interruption was elicited. The heterogeneity across the studies may limit the inferences and warrant further evaluation. In essence, the time-related information should be integrated into framing impactful public health strategy, while a vigorous attempt on the evaluation of the cognitive, behavioural and psychosocial aspects may be beneficial

Applying the SEIR model in forecasting the COVID-19 trend in Malaysia: a preliminary study

On March 18, 2020 the Malaysian government implemented a 14-day Movement Control Order (MCO) as part of the mitigation plan in controlling the COVID-19 epidemic in the country. The MCO aims to limit the contact rates among the population and hence prevent the surge of infected individuals. However, the trend of the epidemic before and after the MCO was not apparent. By applying the Susceptible, Exposed, Infectious and Removed (SEIR) mathematical model, we aimed to forecast the trend of COVID-19 epidemic in Malaysia using data from March 17 to 27, 2020. Based on several predetermined assumptions, the results of the analyses showed that after the implementation of the 14-day MCO from March 18 to 31, 2020, it is forecasted that the epidemic in Malaysia will peak approximately in the end of April 2020 and will subside by about the first week of July 2020. The MCO will “flatten the epidemic curve” but will prolong the duration of the epidemic. Decision to extend the duration of the MCO should depend on the consideration of socioeconomic factors as well

Coping Mechanism among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review

AbstractThis review presented the current literature on coping mechanisms among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), focusing on types of coping mechanisms among parents and different coping mechanisms between mothers and fathers of children with ASD.A search of published literature in English was conducted using Google Scholar, PsycINFO, Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, EBSCO, Springer, Ovid, PubMed, and Cochrane Library up to February 2020. Overall, 18 articles were relevant to the review. The review included thirteen studies for types of coping mechanisms among parents of children with ASD and five studies for different coping mechanisms between mothers and fathers. Coping mechanisms demonstrated by parents when caring for their child include problem-focused and emotion-focused coping. A comparison between fathers and mothers in our review showed that mothers used emotion-focused coping more than fathers, while fathers used problem-focused coping more frequently than mothers.The review provides an exciting opportunity to advance our knowledge on types of coping mechanisms and gender difference in using coping mechanisms among parents of children with ASD. The review also sheds new light on developing supportive interventions by healthcare providers to improve coping mechanisms among parents of children with ASD

Comparisons of body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio and a body shape index (ABSI) in predicting high blood pressure among Malaysian adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Objective To compare the performance of different anthropometric indices including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and a body shape index to predict high blood pressure (BP) in adolescents using the 90th and 95th percentiles as two different thresholds. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Probability proportionate to size was used to randomly select two schools in Selangor state, Malaysia. Participants A total of 513 adolescents (58.9% women and 41.1% men) aged 12–16 years were recruited. Primary and secondary outcome measures Weight, height, WC and BP of the adolescents were measured. The predictive power of anthropometric indices was analysed by sex using the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results BMI and WHtR were the indices with higher areas under the curve (AUCs), yet the optimal cut-offs to predict high BP using the 95th percentile were higher than the threshold for overweight/obesity. Most indices showed poor sensitivity under the suggested cut-offs. In contrast, the optimal BMI and WHtR cut-offs to predict high BP using the 90th percentile were lower (men: BMI-for-age=0.79, WHtR=0.46; women: BMI-for-age=0.92, WHtR=0.45). BMI showed the highest AUC in both sexes but had poor sensitivity among women. WHtR presented good sensitivity and specificity in both sexes. Conclusions These findings suggested that WHtR might be a useful indicator for screening high blood pressure risk in the routine primary-level health services for adolescents. Future studies are warranted to involve a larger sample size to confirm these findings

Factors associated with knowledge and attitude of breastfeeding among staff of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Introduction: Many studies have investigated the knowledge and attitude towards breastfeeding among fathers and mothers, however studies looking at working adults’ knowledge and attitude towards breastfeeding is limited. Working adults with good knowledge and favourable attitude toward the practice of breastfeeding may increase the breast-feeding initiative among working mothers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitude toward breastfeeding among staff from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of a public university and its associated factors. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among faculty staff members. The respondents were selected by simple random sampling and a self-administered questionnaire was used to investigate the knowledge and attitude towards breastfeeding among them. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the factors associated with knowledge and attitude respectively. Results: A total of 117 respondents were recruited to take part in this study. Of these, 83(70.9%) had good knowledge while 61(52.6%) respondents had favourable attitude toward breastfeeding. There was significant positive fair correlation between knowledge and attitude score (r=0.396,p<0.001). Gender (coefficient:1.04,CI:0.25-1.84), education level (coefficient:1.56,CI:0.60-2.53) and number of children (coefficient:0.21,CI:0.01-0.40) were the factors affecting knowledge score whereas education level (coefficient:5.73,CI:1.40-10.07) and number of children (coefficient:1.3,CI:0.41-2.11) were the factors affecting attitude. Conclusion: Overall, majority of respondents were found to have good knowledge but half of them had favourable attitude toward breastfeeding. A awareness program is suggested particularly for male, low education level and those with less number of children in order to increase knowledge and attitude toward breastfeeding

Educational intervention for informal caregiver of person with dementia: a systematic review

The role of caregivers is very important in the management of person with dementia, where it is not uncommon for them to experience psychological distress. However, the level of distress can be managed and reduced through strategic educational intervention. A systematic review has been conducted through searching Medline, Science direct, Cochrane library and EMBASE databases to provide a narrative synthesis that elaborate on methods and outcomes of the educational intervention among informal caregiver of person with dementia. From a total of 5125 records, eight studies were selected and included in this review, where the results show that educational intervention can be implemented either as individual or group intervention. Group intervention methods mainly focus on training programs such as workshops and lectures, and also group-based discussions. While for individual intervention, most of the activities were implemented through self-learning using technology or computer-based systems. In conclusion, based on the outcome of the studies, both methods of implementations are found to be useful in reducing psychological distress of the informal caregiver

Determinants of the use of family planning methods among rural women in Plateau state, Nigeria

This study aimed at determining the factors that influence family planning practice among rural women of Pankshin district in Plateau state, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study using a simple random sampling method was conducted from October to December 2019. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection among 302 respondents. Among respondents, 48.3% had practised family planning and the most popular family planning method ever practised was injectables (57.5%). The determinants of family planning practice were age group 29-39 and 40-49 years old (AOR=4.373, p&lt;0.001; AOR=5.862, p&lt;0.001), discussion with partner (AOR=9.192, p&lt;0.001) and partner’s approval (AOR=2.791, p=0.007). Findings showed an encouraging family planning prevalence with the main determinants involving male partners. Further efforts need to be made to promote family planning practice among male partners and to empower women of all reproductive age groups by providing them with relevant information that is needed for them to make informed decisions

Risk factors for hepatitis C infection among adult patients in Kedah state, Malaysia: a case-control study

Hepatitis C infection is a global public health problem. This study was designed to identify the risk factors associated with hepatitis C infection among adult patients in Kedah state, Malaysia. A matched, hospital-based, case–control study was conducted at a tertiary hospital. Cases were adult (aged ≥ 18 years) patients with positive serology test results for hepatitis C virus antibody and detectable hepatitis C virus RNA from January 2015 to December 2018, and controls were age-, sex- and ethnicity-matched patients who were not infected with hepatitis C virus. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on demographic characteristics and previous exposure to selected risk factors among the study participants. Associations between hepatitis C and demographic and risk factors were assessed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses. A total of 255 case–control patient pairs were enrolled. The multivariable analysis indicated that having a history of blood or blood product transfusion before 1992 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 6.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.73–13.81), injection drug use (AOR = 6.60, 95% CI: 3.66–12.43), imprisonment (AOR = 4.58, 95% CI: 1.62–16.40), tattooing (AOR = 3.73, 95% CI: 1.37–12.00), having more than one sexual partner (AOR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.16–3.69), piercing (AOR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.04–2.80), and having only secondary education (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.06–3.57) were independently associated with hepatitis C. No associations were found between health care occupation, needle-prick injury, surgical procedures, haemodialysis, acupuncture, cupping, or contact sports and hepatitis C infection. These findings demonstrate that hepatitis C risk is multifactorial. Having a history of blood or blood product transfusion before 1992, injection drug use, imprisonment, tattooing, having more than one sexual partner, piercing, and having only secondary education were associated with increased odds of hepatitis C

Systematic review on the prevalence of illness and stress and their associated risk factors among educators in Malaysia

Background Despite evidence of physical (illness) and mental (stress) health problems, there appears to be a lack of studies or concern regarding occupational safety and health among educators in Malaysia. Objective To review the prevalence of illness, stress, and corresponding risk factors among educators in Malaysia. Method Scopus, ProQuest, PubMed, ScienceDirect, CAB, and other computerized databases were searched according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify studies published between January 2013 and April 2019 on the prevalence and associated risk factors of illness and stress among educators (S1 Checklist). The keywords used included educator, teacher, lecturer, academic staff, teaching profession, university staff, academician, faculty, illness, injury, disease, pain, WMSD, dysphonia, hoarseness, stress, mental health, strain, health problem, disorder, and/or Malaysia. Selected studies were evaluated by quality assessment. Results Twenty-two articles fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The prevalence of illness and stress was determined for low back pain (33.3–72.9%); upper back pain (33.33–56.4%); neck/shoulder pain (40.4–80.1%); upper arm discomfort (91.3%); forearm pain (89.6%); wrist pain (16.7–93.2%); hip pain (13.2–40.9%); thigh discomfort (91.8%); lower leg discomfort (90.5%); knee pain (23.7–88.0%); ankle/feet pain (19.3–87.7%); elbow pain (3.5–13.0%); voice disorder (10.4–13.0%) and stress (5.5–25.9%). Sex, education level, teaching experience, quality of life, anxiety, depression, coping styles, and others were reported as associated risk factors across the studies. Conclusions There appears to be a cause for concern regarding musculoskeletal disorders, voice disorder, and stress reported among educators in Malaysia. While most risk factors matched those reported in studies elsewhere, others such as school characteristics (school level, government or private school, and location [rural/urban]) have not been investigated