Relationship between selected socio-demographic and health-related factors with intake of fruits and vegetables among the elderly in Malaysia

Food intake plays an important role in providing adequate nutrients. Several studies have indicated that diets relatively high in fruits and vegetables are associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases. The objective of this study is to identify the relationship between sociodemographic and health-related variables with intake of fruits and vegetables among older persons aged 60 years and above in Malaysia. The subjects were a representative sample from 13 states and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. One older person within an available household in selected enumeration blocks was included in the study. Information on demographics, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle characteristics was obtained using a pre-tested questionnaire. The frequency per week of fruits and vegetables intake was obtained through a face-to-face interview. The sample consisted of 2,980 older persons (males = 47.9%; female = 52.1%). The mean age of respondents was 70.46 ± 7.2 years, the majority were Malays (58.3%), married (55.8%), with no formal education (44.5%), with an average monthly income of RM551.02. About 75.3% of the respondents were taking vegetables daily and 38.1% were taking fruits daily. By gender, 51.9% of women and 45.7% of men had daily intake of vegetables, while 50.4% of the women and 48.1% of men reported daily intake of fruits. In terms of health status and other lifestyle variables, 54.2% rated their health as “good”, 53.3% were inactive or sedentary and 17.2% were currently smoking. The results showed a significant association between intake of fruits with age (c2 = 7.077, df = 2, p = 0.029), ethnicity (c2 = 42.23, df = 4, p = 0.000), stratum (c2 = 15.126, df = 1, p = 0.000) and self-rated health (c2 = 16.31, df = 3, p = 0.001). On the other hand, only ethnicity (c2 = 11.352, df = 4, p = 0.023) and self-rated health (c2 = 16.16, df = 3, p = 0.001) were significantly associated with intake of vegetables. These findings indicate that there is a relationship between pattern of fruits and vegetables intake with selected demographic and health-related characteristics of the respondents. Therefore, appropriate nutrition intervention programs need to be formulated to encourage increased intake of fruits and vegetables among the elderly in Malaysia to promote optimal health and wellness

Population ageing in Malaysia: a mosaic of issues, challenges and prospects

The world is ageing, and in the next decade the growth of the aged population will be fastest in the developing countries. The number of older persons is expected to more than double globally from 841 million in 2013 to more than 2 billion in 2050. By then, nearly 8 in 10 of the world’s older population will live in less developed regions. Rapid population ageing in Malaysia can be attributed to the dramatic decline in fertility and mortality rates in tandem with longer life expectancy. Compared to the more developed countries, Malaysia has a rather short time to prepare for the transition into an aged nation. The older population aged 65 years or over will take only 23 years to double from 7 percent in 2020 to 14 percent in 2043. Like many other developing countries in the region, Malaysia is ageing at lower levels of development. All trends point towards a rapid demographic transition that is currently taking place as a “silent epidemic”. This inaugural lecture will focus on the trends of population ageing and the characteristics of the elderly in Malaysia from five (economic, health, social, psycho-spiritual, environmental) key domains. A discussion of the prospects and the way forward for population ageing in Malaysia is also presented. The ageing experiences of the population are influenced by normative age-grade, normative history-grade and non-normative events which make each cohort of aged distinct from another as the needs and demand of each cohort could be poles apart. The cross-cutting dimensions of ethnicity, gender, socio-economic background and geographical location will influence the trajectories across the life course as the situation of the aged differs by a unique combination of diverse past experiences. Malaysia is faced with a mammoth task of balancing the needs of a rapidly ageing society and at the same time promoting economic growth and development to fulfil the aspirations of becoming a high income nation. Ageing is a multidimensional, lifelong process with impact at both micro and macro levels to all members of the society. In Malaysia, the fast growth of the older population is not made opaque as the nascent knowledge on old age and ageing remains fragmented and unconsolidated. The use of empirical evidence in the planning of policies on ageing must be embraced at all levels of government and multi-sector stakeholders should collaborate closely to optimize the use of limited resources. The future of research on ageing in Malaysia lies in interdisciplinary studies with longitudinal panel data, uniting the fields of social, economic and psycho-gerontology, geriatrics, as well as gerontechnology. A society for all ages recognizes the need for lifelong development as policies designed for the younger population will also have a binding effect on the aged today as well as those of tomorrow

Male and female intelligence among undergraduate students : does gender matter?

The study investigated the difference between gender-role identity and intelligence of students at Universities. The samples were 153 participants consisting of 48 females and 105 males` undergraduate Iranian students in Malaysia Universities. All students were given a Catell Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CCFIT). The instrument consisted two subscales, namely, intelligence (Form A) and intelligence (Form B). Each subscale had fifty items. The mean age and SD for female`s students (FS) were 22.27 and 2.62, for ages of 18 to 27 and for male`s students (MS) mean age and SD were 23.28 and 2.43, for ages of 19 to 27. The sampling method in this study was the simple randomization method. Descriptive statistics focusing on average and t-tests were used to examine differences between male and female students in this study. The CCFIT as a questioner test included 100 items about quantitative the 2 parts of Intelligence (Form A) (50 items) and intelligence (Form B) (50 items). In general, the results were not found significant between female and male students in relation to intelligence. Further research is needed to investigate whether identify factors at the university environment influence the development of female and male`s intelligence

Momordica charantia for type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Momordica charantia (bitter gourd) is not only a nutritious vegetable but it is also used in traditional medical practices to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. Experimental studies with animals and humans suggested that the vegetable has a possible role in glycaemic control. To assess the effects of mormodica charantia for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Several electronic databases were searched, among these were The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2012), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, SIGLE and LILACS (all up to February 2012), combined with handsearches. No language restriction was used. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared momordica charantia with placebo or a control intervention, with or without pharmacological or non-pharmacological interventions. Two authors independently extracted data. Risk of bias of the trials was evaluated using the parameters of randomisation, allocation concealment, blinding, completeness of outcome data, selective reporting and other potential sources of bias. A meta-analysis was not performed given the quality of data and the variability of preparations of momordica charantia used in the interventions (no similar preparation was tested twice). Four randomised controlled trials with up to three months duration and investigating 479 participants met the inclusion criteria. Risk of bias of these trials (only two studies were published as a full peer-reviewed publication) was generally high. Two RCTs compared the effects of preparations from different parts of the momordica charantia plant with placebo on glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus. There was no statistically significant difference in the glycaemic control with momordica charantia preparations compared to placebo. When momordica charantia was compared to metformin or glibenclamide, there was also no significant change in reliable parameters of glycaemic control. No serious adverse effects were reported in any trial. No trial investigated death from any cause, morbidity, health-related quality of life or costs. There is insufficient evidence on the effects of momordica charantia for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Further studies are therefore required to address the issues of standardization and the quality control of preparations. For medical nutritional therapy, further observational trials evaluating the effects of momordica charantia are needed before RCTs are established to guide any recommendations in clinical practice

A multicomponent exercise program's effects on health‐related quality of life of institutionalized elderly

Objective: To determine the effects of a multicomponent exercise program on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Design: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was used in the study. Setting: Participants were recruited from the public-funded shelter home located in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Participants: The experimental group consisted of 27 volunteers older than 60 years who performed 60 minutes of aerobic, strength, flexibility, and balance training 3 times a week for 12 weeks, supervised by a physiotherapist. The control group consisted of 25 volunteers who continued with their current level of activity. Main outcome measures: Physical health component summary (PCS) and mental health component summary (MCS) of the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey HRQOL. Results: The exercise group increased in the level of PCS and MCS by 8.4% (P .05), respectively. The control group shows decline in PCS and MCS by 9.3% (P .05), respectively. Conclusions: This study suggests that a multicomponent exercise program may improve HRQOL among institutionalized elderly

Cohort comparisons: emotional well-being among adolescents and older adults

Background: There are several negative stereotypes about older adults that have negatively influenced people's attitude about aging. The present study compared emotional well-being between older adults and adolescents. Methods: Data for this study came from 1,403 community-dwelling elderly persons and 1,190 secondary school students and were obtained from two national cross-sectional surveys. Emotional well-being was measured using the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index. Data analysis was conducted using a multivariate analysis of covariance with SPSS software version 20 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Results: Elderly people significantly scored higher levels of emotional well-being (mean, 62.3; standard deviation, 22.55) than younger people (mean, 57.9; standard deviation, 18.46; t, 5.32; P≤0.001). The findings from the multivariate analysis of covariance revealed a significant difference between older adults and younger people in emotional well-being [F(3, 2587)=120.21; P≤0.001; η2=0.122] after controlling for sex. Conclusion: Contrary to negative stereotypes about aging, our findings show a higher level of emotional well-being among older adults compared with younger people

Determination of psychological well being status among older persons in Northern Peninsular Malaysia

To determine the psychological well-being status and identify predictor variables significantly contribute towards the psychological well-being among older persons in Northern Peninsular Malaysia. A cross-sectional predictive correlational design was used for this study. The population comprised of 385 older persons with an average age of 69.3. Respondents completed a questionnaire booklet containing sociodemographic variables; self rated health, WHO-5 Well-Being Index, Intrinsic/Extrinsic-Revised Scale (I/E-R), Duke Social Support and Stress Scale and WHODAS II 12. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 1 1.5) was used for data analysis. A total of 62.6 percent of elderly persons had good psychological well being status. Results of multiple regression analysis by enter method revealed that 46.3% of variance in psychological well being was explained by all predictor variables of the study. In addition, stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated seven significant predicting variables and measures namely physical health, disability, religiosity, social support, gender, housing quality, and employment status contributed to psychological well being. It is found that chronological age is not the cause of declining in psychological well being so psychological well being among older persons can be maintained and enhanced on condition that their social and physical needs are met well

Prevalence and factors associated with mild cognitive impairment on screening in older Malaysians

Objective: This study was aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of mild cognitive impairments (MCIs) in Malaysia. Method: This is a cross-sectional community-based study among elderlies aged 60 years and above in the four states of Malaysia - Perak, Kelantan, Selangor and Johor. A multi-stage stratified random sampling method was used for the data collection. Mini Mental State Examination score ?22 was used to diagnosed MCI and analyzed by using multivariate logistic regression. Results: A total of 2112 participants were recruited into this study. Mean age of the participants was 69.2±18.8 years, and 51.4% of them were females. The ethnic distribution was 63.4% Malaysian, 31.4% Chinese, 5.0% Indians, and 0.2% others. The overall prevalence of MCI was 68% (n=1436/2112). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, participant who were older (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.00-1.04), did not receive formal education (OR 6.85, 95% CI 4.58-10.25), had primary education (OR 2.35 95% CI 1.84-3.00), were lonely (OR 1.18 95% CI 1.05-1.32), and had low level of life satisfaction (OR 1.68 95% CI 1.02-2.67), had significant positive correlations with MCI. Conclusion: MCI is present in seven out of ten elderly Malaysians. Aging population, presence of low education level, loneliness and low life satisfaction level seem to facilitate development of MCI