Effectiveness of exercise and protein supplementation intervention on body composition, functional fitness, and oxidative stress among elderly Malays with sarcopenia

Sarcopenia, characterized as muscle loss that occurs with aging, is a major health problem in an aging population, due to its implications on mobility, quality of life, and fall risk. Protein supplementation could improve the physical fitness by increasing protein anabolism, and exercise has a documented evidence of positive effect on functional status among the elderly. However, the combined effect of both protein supplementation and exercise has not been investigated among sarcopenic elderly in the Asian population. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of exercise intervention and protein supplementation either alone or in combination for 12 weeks, on body composition, functional fitness, and oxidative stress among elderly Malays with sarcopenia. Sixty five sarcopenic elderly Malays aged 60-74 years were assigned to the control group, exercise group (ExG), protein supplementation group (PrG), or the combination of exercise and protein supplementation group. A significant interaction effect between body weight and body mass index (BMI) was observed, with the PrG (-2.1% body weight, -1.8% BMI) showing the highest reductions. Further, there was a decrease in % body fat (-4.5%) and an increase in fat-free mass (kg) (+5.7%) in the ExG after 12 weeks (P < 0.05). The highest increments in lower and upper body strength were observed in the PrG (73.2%) and ExG (47.6%), respectively. In addition, the ExG showed a reduction in superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, and both interventions did not alter either lipid or protein oxidation. In conclusion, the exercise program was found to improve muscle strength and body composition, while protein supplementation reduced body weight and increased upper body strength, among sarcopenic elderly in Malaysia

Health promotion interventions for community-dwelling older people with mild or pre-frailty : a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Mild or pre-frailty is common and associated with increased risks of hospitalisation, functional decline, moves to long-term care, and death. Little is known about the effectiveness of health promotion in reducing these risks. This systematic review aimed to synthesise randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating home and community-based health promotion interventions for older people with mild/pre-frailty. METHODS: We searched 20 bibliographic databases and 3 trials registers (January 1990 - May 2016) using mild/pre-frailty and associated terms. We included randomised controlled and crossover trials of health promotion interventions for community-dwelling older people (65+ years) with mild/pre-frailty and excluded studies focussing on populations in hospital, long term care facilities or with a specific condition. Risk of bias was assessed by two reviewers using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. We pooled study results using standardised mean differences (SMD) where possible and used narrative synthesis where insufficient outcome data were available. RESULTS: We included 10 articles reporting on seven trials (total n = 506 participants) and included five trials in a meta-analysis. Studies were predominantly small, of limited quality and six studies tested group exercise alone. One study additionally investigated a nutrition and exercise intervention and one evaluated telemonitoring. Interventions of exercise in groups showed mixed effects on functioning (no effects on self-reported functioning SMD 0.19 (95% CI -0.57 to 0.95) n = 3 studies; positive effects on performance-based functioning SMD 0.37 (95% CI 0.07 to 0.68) n = 3 studies). No studies assessed moves to long-term care or hospitalisations. CONCLUSIONS: Currently the evidence base is of insufficient size, quality and breadth to recommend specific health promotion interventions for older people with mild or pre- frailty. High quality studies of rigorously developed interventions are needed

Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma and help-seeking attitudes: a multinational population-based study from 16 Arab countries and 10,036 individuals

BackgroundThere is evidence that culture deeply affects beliefs about mental illnesses\u27 causes, treatment, and help-seeking. We aimed to explore and compare knowledge, attitudes toward mental illness and help-seeking, causal attributions, and help-seeking recommendations for mental illnesses across various Arab countries and investigate factors related to attitudes toward help-seeking.MethodsWe carried out a multinational cross-sectional study using online self-administered surveys in the Arabic language from June to November 2021 across 16 Arab countries among participants from the general public.ResultsMore than one in four individuals exhibited stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness (26.5%), had poor knowledge (31.7%), and hold negative attitudes toward help-seeking (28.0%). ANOVA tests revealed a significant difference between countries regarding attitudes (F = 194.8, p \u3c .001), knowledge (F = 88.7, p \u3c .001), and help-seeking attitudes (F = 32.4, p \u3c .001). Three multivariate regression analysis models were performed for overall sample, as well as Palestinian and Sudanese samples that displayed the lowest and highest ATSPPH-SF scores, respectively. In the overall sample, being female, older, having higher knowledge and more positive attitudes toward mental illness, and endorsing biomedical and psychosocial causations were associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes; whereas having a family psychiatric history and endorsing religious/supernatural causations were associated with more negative help-seeking attitudes. The same results have been found in the Palestinian sample, while only stigma dimensions helped predict help-seeking attitudes in Sudanese participants.ConclusionInterventions aiming at improving help-seeking attitudes and behaviors and promoting early access to care need to be culturally tailored, and congruent with public beliefs about mental illnesses and their causations

Exploring ways to provide education in conflict zones: Implementations and challenges

Millions of children are out of school in conflict-affected countries, being deprived of their fundamental educational rights without any hope of immediate peace or solutions. This study explored ways to provide education to children in conflict zones, and to identify the challenges to access and implementation as mooted in the literature. It also presents two short case studies conducted with Palestinian and Syrian refugees residing in Malaysia revealing their perceptions towards their current situation and future orientations in terms of education. This study utilized an exploratory research methodology. The results show that during conflicts or crises, education is not given very high priority compared to other basic needs such as food, water, shelter or protection. Governmental and non-governmental organizations have provided a considerable number of educational initiatives and programs for children affected by conflict, with a clear focus on the Middle East, in order to secure children’s right for education and equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to improve themselves, their families and society. Nevertheless, these organizations have been unable to fully meet the educational demands, due to the huge number of children out of school. The challenges facing these organizations, the families and their children in implementation and access to education can be categorized into either political, financial, psychological, economic, administrative or institutional, bearing in mind that each country has its own special circumstances. In addition, many methods for providing and improving implementation and access to education have been documented, and the results of the interviews are consistent with the findings of recent studies in terms of the current situation of affected-families and children, their educational needs, the roles of parents, teachers, communities and NGOs, as well as the challenges. Most importantly, the participants of the study stressed the importance of having a positive mental attitude and hope for a better quality of life in the future. This study recommends an increased effort to be made in order to provide education for increasing numbers of children affected by conflict by making use of all possible means including new advances in technology

Efficacy of L-carnitine supplementation on frailty status and its biomarkers, nutritional status, and physical and cognitive function among prefrail older adults: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial

M Badrasawi,1,2 Suzana Shahar,1 AM Zahara,1 R Nor Fadilah,3 Devinder Kaur Ajit Singh4 1Dietetic Programme, School of Healthcare Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2Nutrition Program, Faulty of Applied Sciences, Palestine Polytechnic University, Hebron, Palestine; 3Biomedical Programme, School of Healthcare Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 4Physiotherapy Programme, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Background: Frailty is a biological syndrome of decreased reserve and resistance to stressors due to decline in multiple physiological systems. Amino acid deficiency, including L-carnitine, has been proposed to be associated with its pathophysiology. Nevertheless, the efficacy of L-carnitine supplementation on frailty status has not been documented. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effect of 10-week L-carnitine supplement (1.5 g/day) on frailty status and its biomarkers and also physical function, cognition, and nutritional status among prefrail older adults in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Methodology: This study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted among 50 prefrail subjects randomized into two groups (26 in L-carnitine group and 24 in placebo group). Outcome measures include frailty status using Fried criteria and Frailty Index accumulation of deficit, selected frailty biomarkers (interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and insulin-like growth factor-1), physical function, cognitive function, nutritional status and biochemical profile. Results: The results indicated that the mean scores of Frailty Index score and hand grip test were significantly improved in subjects supplemented with L-carnitine (P&lt;0.05 for both parameters) as compared to no change in the placebo group. Based on Fried criteria, four subjects (three from the L-carnitine group and one from the control group) transited from prefrail status to robust after the intervention. Conclusion: L-carnitine supplementation has a favorable effect on the functional status and fatigue in prefrail older adults. Keywords: frailty, Fried criteria, Frailty Index accumulation of deficit, L-carnitine supplementation, prefrail elderly, physical function, frailty biomarkers, randomized controlled clinical tria

Nutrition Awareness and Oral Health among Dental Patients in Palestine: A Cross-Sectional Study

Nutrition plays a key role in oral and dental health. Similarly, oral health affects nutrition status and diet intake. Consumption of much cariogenic nutrients such as sugar affects dental and gum health. The awareness of dietary practices that affect the oral health is an essential component in the dental care system. The knowledge of the dietary factors that affect the oral health is a major component in the treatment plan. In this vein, this study was conducted to determine the level of awareness of nutrition information affecting oral health among dental patients who visit the private and university dental clinics in West Bank, Palestine. A total of 169 patients were invited to join the study and signed the consent form. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect the required data which included patients’ sociodemographics, medical history, oral care practices, dietary practices, and oral health-related nutritional awareness. Face and content validity were verified, followed by a pilot study to determine the questionnaire reliability alpha, and the data were collected from October to November 2018. The Construct Validation was done using the Rasch measurement model, and the descriptive statistical analysis was done to determine the level of awareness and the difference among the groups using SPSS version 21. The total mean score of the nutrition awareness was (9.3 ± 2.8), with higher level of nutrition awareness among females, and the highest score was 16 out of 17. The good oral health condition was reported among 44%, fair 32%, poor 16%, and bad 10% while excellent oral health was reported among only 5% of the participants. There was no significant relationship between level of nutritional awareness with economic status, level of education, or area of living. For oral health, females showed significantly better oral and gum health levels (p<0.05). The overall level of nutrition knowledge among the participants is insufficient. These results point to the need for oral health and nutrition educational courses and programs to improve oral and nutritional awareness and knowledge among Palestinian people and dental patients in particular. Improving the dietary habits and oral practices with lifestyle changes should also be encouraged

Effectiveness of exercise and protein supplementation intervention on body composition, functional fitness, and oxidative stress among elderly Malays with sarcopenia

Suzana Shahar,1 Norshafarina Shari Kamaruddin,2 Manal Badrasawi,1 Noor Ibrahim Mohamed Sakian,3 Zahara Abd Manaf,1 Zaitun Yassin,4 Leonard Joseph51Dietetic Programme, 2Biomedical Programme, 3Occupational Therapy Programme, School of Healthcare Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, 4Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, 5Department of Physiotherapy, School of Healthcare Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaAbstract: Sarcopenia, characterized as muscle loss that occurs with aging, is a major health problem in an aging population, due to its implications on mobility, quality of life, and fall risk. Protein supplementation could improve the physical fitness by increasing protein anabolism, and exercise has a documented evidence of positive effect on functional status among the elderly. However, the combined effect of both protein supplementation and exercise has not been investigated among sarcopenic elderly in the Asian population. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of exercise intervention and protein supplementation either alone or in combination for 12 weeks, on body composition, functional fitness, and oxidative stress among elderly Malays with sarcopenia. Sixty five sarcopenic elderly Malays aged 60-74 years were assigned to the control group, exercise group (ExG), protein supplementation group (PrG), or the combination of exercise and protein supplementation group. A significant interaction effect between body weight and body mass index (BMI) was observed, with the PrG (-2.1% body weight, -1.8% BMI) showing the highest reductions. Further, there was a decrease in % body fat (-4.5%) and an increase in fat-free mass (kg) (+5.7%) in the ExG after 12 weeks (P &lt; 0.05). The highest increments in lower and upper body strength were observed in the PrG (73.2%) and ExG (47.6%), respectively. In addition, the ExG showed a reduction in superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, and both interventions did not alter either lipid or protein oxidation. In conclusion, the exercise program was found to improve muscle strength and body composition, while protein supplementation reduced body weight and increased upper body strength, among sarcopenic elderly in Malaysia.Keywords: protein supplement, aging population, sarcopenic elderly, Malaysia, Asia

The effect of Polygonum minus extract on cognitive and psychosocial parameters according to mood status among middle-aged women: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study [Retraction]

Shahar S, Aziz AF, Ismail SNA, et al. The effect of Polygonum minus extract on cognitive and psychosocial parameters according to mood status among middle-aged women: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Clin Interv Aging. 2015;10:1505&ndash;1520.This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Interventions in Aging. It was brought to the attention of the Editorial team by the authors that there were a number of reporting errors in the Methods, Results and Figures 3&ndash;5. Due to the extent of the inaccuracies, the scientific validity of the data, and hence the conclusions, are questionable.This retraction relates t

Binge eating symptoms are associated with the severity of premenstrual symptoms among university students, cross sectional study from Palestine

Plain English summary Premenstrual syndrome refers to physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms that regularly happen in the 1 to 2 weeks before the start of each menstrual period. Its symptoms influence more than 90% of menstruating females. There is evidence that binge eating symptoms are significantly associated with premenstrual syndrome. The outcomes of the current study showed that half of the participated females have experienced premenstrual symptoms. There was also a significant relationship between premenstrual syndrome and binge eating symptoms