Prevalence Of cardiovascular risk factors among Sabah health offices employees in 2008

Introduction: Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors is increasing among the general population, but little is known about employee's risk factor who works in the health office. The objective was to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among health office employees and relationship to other contributing factors. Method: Cross sectional data were obtained from Feb-March 2008 as part of the non-communicable disease employee screening program. Universal sampling method was used. 341 employees were agreed to participate in Sabah state health offices. Data was collected through a questionnaire on risk factors, anthropometric and blood pressure measurement, random blood glucose and cholesterol analyses. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 15.0 and presented by descriptions, univariate and multivariate analyses for significant risk factors. Results: The response rate was 96.6%. The prevalence of raised blood pressure (17.9%,[95%Cl:14.1-22.5]), blood cholesterol (21. 7%, [95%CI: 17.5-26. 5]), blood glucose (10.0%, [95%Cl:7.1-13.8]), smoking (17. 3%, [95%CI: 13. 5- 21.8]), physical inactivity (29.6%,[95%Cl:24. 9-34.8]) and drink alcohol (9. 7%,[95%Cl:6. 9-13. 5]) were lower than general population studies in the National .Morbidity Survey Report Ill and Malaysian NCO surveillance of 2006. The prevalence of Overweight (BM

Waterborne Food Poisoning Outbreak of Bacillus Cereus in Primary School Sabah East Malaysia

On 15 Feb 2012, food poisoning outbreak occurred in a primary school that never reported any incident before. A team was sent to identify the risk factor and to institute control measures. A retrospective cohort study design was applied. All persons who attended the school canteen meal on 15 Feb 2012 were interviewed, using a standard questionnaire. Environmental investigations included observations of kitchen, water supply, sanitation, food-handling procedures and the collection of environmental samples for microbiological analysis. 33 of 188 people had upper gastro-intestinal symptoms. All were students whereas school staff members ate food from outside the canteen. Mean incubation period was 30 minutes. Of 15 foods, nasi kuning was associated with the outbreak, RR 3.8 (95% CI 2.19-6.56). Kitchen cleanliness was poor. Temporary shortage of water supply caused them to use untreated water from the village well. Food handler practiced unhygienic food preparation. Bacillus cereus was isolated from water tank, preparation table surface and hand towel. Nasi kuning was most likely the source of B. cereus sp. outbreak probably from cross-contamination during food handling as a result of poor hygienic practices and using untreated water tank. The outbreak stopped with closure of school canteen. Food premises inspection must ensure all water is potable

Evaluating Perception of Farmers towards the Health Effect of Pesticides: A Cross- Sectional Study in the Oil Palm Plantations of Papar, Malaysia

Introduction: Agriculture is an important occupation in Malaysia that generates a major portion of the national revenue. Similar to elsewhere in the world, pesticides are used to boost agricultural production in Malaysian farms. However, chemical pesticides are associated with human health hazard and are not environment friendly as they persist in nature for long periods of time. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, we surveyed 19 palm oil plantations in the Sabah district of Malaysia and evaluated the perception of the workers towards pesticide use and their awareness regarding the health effects associated with pesticide exposure. Results and discussion: Our analysis shows that most of the workers among the 270 respondents were 30-year-old males with average education, and belonged to the low-income group. Majority opined that they were aware of the health hazards of pesticide use and suffered from symptoms (with mean duration of three days) such as vomiting, diarrhea, skin irritation, and dizziness. Surprisingly, the opinion was almost equally divided on whether they perceived pesticides to be the cause of their health problems, and a major percentage did not avail of medical help. Most of the workers responded that they did not receive any training in pesticide handling. Interestingly, they would not read the safety material even if it was provided. Conclusion: We concluded that the farmers should also be educated about alternative and eco-friendly ways of farming. Finally, the plantation management should intervene and proactively advocate the use of safe farming practices

Surveillance evaluation of the national cancer registry in Sabah, Malaysia

BACKGROUND: Cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in Sabah Malaysia with a reported agestandardized incidence rate was 104.9 per 100,000 in 2007. The incidence rate depends on nonmandatory notification in the registry. Underreporting will provide the false picture of cancer control program effectiveness. The present study was to evaluate the performance of the cancer registry system in terms of representativeness, data quality, simplicity, acceptability and timeliness and provision of recommendations for improvement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The evaluation was conducted among key informants in the National Cancer Registry (NCR) and reporting facilities from FebMay 2012 and was based on US CDC guidelines. Representativeness was assessed by matching cancer case in the Health Information System (HIS) and state pathology records with those in NCR. Data quality was measured through case finding and reabstracting of medical records by independent auditors. The reabstracting portion comprised 15 data items. Selfadministered questionnaires were used to assess simplicity and acceptability. Timeliness was measured from date of diagnosis to date of notification received and data dissemination. RESULTS: Of 4613 cancer cases reported in HIS, 83.3% were matched with cancer registry. In the state pathology centre, 99.8% was notified to registry. Duplication of notification was 3%. Data completeness calculated for 104 samples was 63.4%. Registrars perceived simplicity in coding diagnosis as moderate. Notification process was moderately acceptable. Median duration of interval 1 was 5.7 months. CONCLUSIONS: The performances of registry's attributes are fairly positive in terms of simplicity, case reporting sensitivity, and predictive value positive. It is moderately acceptable, data completeness and inflexible. The usefulness of registry is the area of concern to achieve registry objectives. Timeliness of reporting is within international standard, whereas timeliness to data dissemination was longer up to 4 years. Integration between existing HIS and national registration department will improve data quality

Waterborne food poisoning outbreak of Bacillus Cereus in primary school Sabah East Malaysia

On 15 Feb 2012, food poisoning outbreak occurred in a primary school that never reported any incident before. A team was sent to identify the risk factor and to institute control measures. A retrospective cohort study design was applied. All persons who attended the school canteen meal on 15 Feb 2012 were interviewed, using a standard questionnaire. Environmental investigations included observations of kitchen, water supply, sanitation, food-handling procedures and the collection of environmental samples for microbiological analysis. 33 of 188 people had upper gastro-intestinal symptoms. All were students whereas school staff members ate food from outside the canteen. Mean incubation period was 30 minutes. Of 15 foods, nasi kuning was associated with the outbreak, RR 3.8 (95% CI 2.19-6.56). Kitchen cleanliness was poor. Temporary shortage of water supply caused them to use untreated water from the village well. Food handler practiced unhygienic food preparation. Bacillus cereus was isolated from water tank, preparation table surface and hand towel. Nasi kuning was most likely the source of B. cereus sp. outbreak probably from cross-contamination during food handling as a result of poor hygienic practices and using untreated water tank. The outbreak stopped with closure of school canteen. Food premises inspection must ensure all water is potable

Obesity and weight reduction: a review on the latest weight reduction strategies

Obesity prevalence in Malaysian adults aged 18 and above has more than tripled over the past 20 years with 4.5% in 1996 to 17.7% in 2015. The alarming trend of the obesity epidemic in Malaysia requires immediate revision of public health policies. Thus this review was conducted to determine the effectiveness of latest weight reduction strategies. Methods: Literature search was conducted as guided by PICO Framework and using online databases PubMed on 22 June 2018. A total of 2,203 articles were found and screened. A total of 26 articles were reviewed. Results: Most weight loss achieved is through surgical intervention with weight reduction of 20.8 kg compared to 8.5 kg reduction in control group (95% CI, p < 0.001). Non-invasive procedures that produced greatest weight reduction include diet modification strategy consisting of isocaloric diet with large breakfast (700 kcal) which produced weight reduction of 8.7 ± 1.4 kg compared to large dinner (700 kcal) 3.6 ± 1.5 kg (95% CI, p < 0.0001, and special diet of adding 3g/day cumin supplementation into normal diet which produced weight reduction of 6.2 kg compared to 4.19 kg reduction in control group (95% CI, p < 0.05. Conclusion: In this review, most weight loss is achieved through surgical intervention. All patients should receive lifestyle therapy and additional consideration should be given for pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery when indicated

Risk assessment of upper respiratory health problems among workers exposed to biogas residues at palm oil plants in Sabah Malaysia

Objective: A cross-sectional study was carried out on the respiratory effects of biogas plant environment exposure in palm oil mills. The aim of this study was to determine whether respiratory health effects were more common among workers in biogas plant environment. Methods: Workers from 19 palm oil mills in Sabah with biogas plants were compared between the exposed and unexposed of the biogas plant environment. The workers were assessed with a questionnaire, physical examination, spirometry and oximetry tests. Then, the data obtained were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Result: Pearson Chi-square analysis (p =0.019, x2 =5.51) showed there was a significant relationship between the biogas plant environment exposure and lung function test (LFT) with risk estimates (OR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.12, 3.45). The exposed group showed a higher proportion of abnormal lung function test in comparison with the unexposed group. Conclusion: In conclusion, workers in biogas plants environment have two times higher odds of having abnormal lung function test. Thus, the findings from this study can be used in the future planning by execution the optimal control measures as efforts to reduce the risk of respiratory-related disease in the biogas plant environment

Lower back pain and its association with whole-body vibration and manual materials handling among commercial drivers in Sabah

A cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of lower back pain (LBP) and its association with whole-body vibration (WBV) and manual materials handling (MMH). We studied 110 commercial vehicle drivers using a self-administered questionnaire and the VI-400Pro human vibration monitor. Prevalence of LBP was 66.4%. The percentage of drivers who had frequent manual handling of heavy loads was 45.5% and those who handled heavy loads in awkward postures accounted for 86.4%. Daily vibration A(8) averaged on the z axis was 0.25 (0.06) m·s−2 and at vector sum was 0.29 (0.07) m·s−2. Daily vibration exposures on the z axis, frequent manual handling of heavy loads and awkward posture during MMH were significantly associated with LBP. Drivers who are exposed to WBV and frequently handle heavy loads manually and with awkward postures probably have more LBP than drivers who are exposed to only one of these risk factors