Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) screening has been shown to decrease the incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the immunochemical fecal occult blood test (i-FOBT) in diagnosing CRC were assessed among the patients in a tertiary referral hospital in Malaysia. A total sample of 814 patients aged 16 to 85 years old who performed i-FOBT and endoscopic screenings was obtained. The patients were recruited for a retrospective investigation. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were derived for the CRC screenees. Out of the 814 patients screened using i-FOBT, half of them were above 59 years old (49.6%), and 36% had positive i-FOBT. Gender distribution was almost equal, where 53.4% of the patients were female, and 46.6% were male. Majority of the patients were Malays (56.6%), followed by Chinese (24.0%), Indians (16.5%), and others (2.9%). Among the 71 patients referred for colonoscopy, 57.7% and 42.3% corresponded to positive and negative i-FOBT cases, respectively. Polyps were found to be most common among the patients (25.6%), 7.0% were found positive for invasive CRC, and 35.2% had normal colonoscopic findings. There was a significant association between colonoscopic finding and positive i-FOBT (p=0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV for CRC detection were 66.7%, 43.0%, 9.8%, and 93.3%, respectively. The results indicate that i-FOBT is a useful tool in the detection of abnormalities in the lower gastrointestinal tract and therefore serves as a cornerstone for potential large-scale screening programmes.

Work-related upper-extremity disorders (WRUEDs) are frequently occurring among workers in general. Various researches support the empirical results of the Autogenic factors related to such problems of health and safety. Research shows the association of different aspects of work organization strengthen the possibilities of work-related stress and other psychosocial factors, which may lead towards adverse health conditions. To review the previous work done for finding the association between psychosocial factors and upper extremity disorders. Findings from different studies have been reviewed to examine the psychosocial factors association in developing WRUEDs. Published studies, which were primarily focused on WRUEDs and psychosocial factors association, were reviewed. Various studies have shown the relationship between psychosocial factors and UEDs. Due to the different nature of epidemiology of the disorder and variable differences, findings from different studies contradicts. Finally, this review presents the limitations in existing studies, and further research has been proposed for future.

The purpose of the study was to determine the level of knowledge and beliefs about female breast cancer among male students. A cross-sectional study involving 460 male students of a private university selected by convenient sampling was conducted using self-administered questionnaires that consists of socio-demographic details as well as knowledge and beliefs about female breast cancer. The prevalence of good knowledge was only 45.2%, there was a significant association between level of knowledge and age, course of study (p=0.02 and < 0.001, respectively). The prevalence of poor belief was 72.6% and the main source of information was the media (84.1 %). There was no significant association between beliefs about female breast cancer and family income, mother’s education and race. However, there was a significant association between beliefs about female breast cancer and age, course of study and father’s education. As a conclusion, the knowledge and beliefs about female breast cancer among the male students was very poor. More education and awareness need to be emphasized; especially the media was the most common source of information in our study.

A validated screening tool for patient triage based on the pain symptoms, could potentially optimize the resources and expertise available in dental pain management. The aim of this study was to translate and validate the Modified Dental Pain Questionnaire (M-DePaQ) for use in categorizing patients with pain into three groups of common dental conditions. Forward Malay and Chinese translation was performed, followed by backward English translation. The translation was reviewed by an expert panel and pre-tested on patients who are native speakers. Consecutive patients aged 18 years and older experiencing pain and attending the primary dental care clinic completed the questionnaires. Four calibrated dentists made clinical diagnoses independent of the questionnaire responses. For data analysis, the cases were split randomly into Random Sample 1 (RS1) and Random Sample 2 (RS2). Discriminant analysis was performed on RS1 to develop a model for classifying dental pain cases into three groups. The model was applied to cases in RS2, and a crossvalidated accuracy rate was obtained. Criterion validity was assessed using measures such as sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and kappa. Of the 234 questionnaires distributed, 216 (92.3%) were returned. Classification rates were recorded at 73.8% for RS1, 75.0% for RS2, and 71.1% for all cases. The sensitivity values were 0.72, 0.39, and 0.43 for Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The corresponding specificity values were 0.42, 0.87, and 0.94. The discriminant validity of the adapted questionnaire was satisfactory, but the criterion validity could not be established because of biases incorporated in the study.

A spring is a result of karsts topography where surface water has infiltrated the earth's surface recharge area, becoming part of groundwater and emerges from below to become natural spring water. From few observations, local people tend to consume this water directly for many health reasons. The objective of the study was to determine the concentration of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in natural water resources and bottled drinking water sources, and compared with the existing standard. This field assessment was carried out in 2014 as part of the educational module for public health master student. About 13 water samples were collected directly from the tubing into the pre-washed sample bottle and rinse with the sampling water in the field. Sample preservation was achieved by acidifying to pH less 4.0 with nitric acid (HNO3). Samples were stored in a cooler with temperature between 0 to 4oC. Heavy metals were analysed by standard method for graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer (GFAAS) with Zeeman’s correction. Pb and Cd content were analysed from 13 samples which consists of eight natural spring water and five flavoured bottled drinking water. The result showed that Pb content in spring water ranges between 1.8 and 37.3ppb, while the Cd content in spring water ranges between 3.0 and 23.0ppb. In the commercialised drinking water, the amount of Pb ranges between 0.4 and 2.6 ppb, while the content of Cd ranges between 0.8 and 7.0 ppb. This study indicates that there are high content of Pb and Cd in most of the natural spring water points and some bottled drinking water that are available within Klang Valley. In the absence of any specific point sources, the possibility of urban area and high traffic source leading to run off as well as rock types may result in variations observed. Hence, very worrying, especially that these sources of water were consumed directly as drinking water or eye drops without knowing its content. Further tests, coupled with supportive soil and conductivity studies, are required to test all possible similar natural sources to safeguard the health of people.

Breast Self-Examination (BSE) is a process whereby women examine their breasts regularly to detect any abnormal swelling or lumps in order to seek prompt medical attention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge and practice of BSE among female non-medical students in UKM, Bangi. A cross-sectional study was conducted using self-administered and validated questionnaire among 364 students. The results showed that only 37.1% performs BSE and 45% of the students have good knowledge. Age, marital status, using internet and pamphlets as source of information, personal, and family history of BC, were significantly associated with knowledge level of students. Practice of BSE was significantly associated with knowledge level. From multivariate analysis, BSE was more likely to be done among students with family history, students who using internet and pamphlet as sources of information, also among students with good knowledge. As conclusions, the practice of BSE is inadequate among the respondents in spite of most of them had heard about BSE. The results suggest the need of providing continuing educational programs to increase the knowledge level on BSE which in turn will have a positive effect on students to practice and motivate to perform BSE.

The risks of mercury use have prompted the establishment of Minamata Convention on Mercury which placed strong emphasis on management of mercury-added products. This convention aims to reduce and phase out the use, manufacturing and trade of mercury-added products including batteries, switches and non-electronic measuring devices. This commitment will cause significant impacts especially in the developing countries in designing the right approach to achieve it. This is also true for medical industry which is well known for the utilization of mercury-added devices and dental amalgam in its services but had embarked on efforts in eliminating mercury for many years. The experiences learned within a medical facility can be useful in efforts to meet this global ambition of mercury phase out. This paper aims to provide conceptual discussion on the challenges faced by developing countries and lessons learned from medical facility that can helps the formulation of appropriate approaches to manage mercury-added products. The paper adopted medical industry as a case study and used document analysis to discuss the issue. The main challenges identified for developing countries include lacks of capacity, funding, data and newer technologies. Based on analysis of previous studies, this study proposed a mercury management framework in medical facility and identified the recommended practices, namely technological application, policy instrument, capacity building and guidelines development. These identified approaches are found to have specific relationships between cost and potential impacts, hence giving flexibility for adoption based on the available resources in promoting better mercury management system

Ocular injuries or trauma to the eye can be caused by variety of objects resulting in a spectrum of lesions in the eye. We did a Pubmed/Google/Science Direct search to review the spectrum of ocular injuries in Malaysia. In our review, we included 28 papers providing information on ocular injuries which were published from Malaysia during the period 1991-2016 in different medical journals. Prevalence was more among males with an average age of 35 years. Among adults they were more common in the workplace but in children it occurred at home. Few wore protective glasses at work. The mode of injury was due to sharp objects hitting the eye, motor vehicle and domestic accidents, firecrackers, chemicals and rarer causes like superglue and durian fruit. Prognostic factors for outcome were the initial visual acuity, length of the wound, associated factors like hyphaema, intraocular foreign body and vitreous prolapse. Missing the diagnosis of perforation of the eyeball is possible without eliciting a proper history. Protective devices must be worn to prevent injuries. Display of health education charts showing the effect of injuries in the eye and their preventive measures in health centres, private hospitals, schools, factories and sports centres will increase the awareness of public about the ocular injuries. It is important to diagnose the tissues involved in ocular trauma by the general practitioners and primary care physicians and refer the patients to the Ophthalmologist urgently for treatment to salvage vision. Compensation mechanisms should then be put forth in terms of rehabilitation and for monetary loss.

Although the relation of iodine deficiency to endemic goiter is well established, other factors may be involved. Some factors are related to food. The aim of the study was to prove that some foods locally grown in an iodine deficient area are goitrogenic. Twenty eight Wistar rats age 28 days, weight 60-70 g were randomly assigned into seven groups. The first group fed with AIN-93G as control group. Group II and III were given 25% and 50% raw soybean replacing the same weight of AIN-93G. Group IV and V were given 25% and 50% raw cassava replacing the same weight of AIN-93G. Group VI and VII were given 25% % and 50% raw cabbage replacing the same weight of AIN-93G. The length of the experiment was 34 days. The results showed that the control group fed with AIN-93G grew optimally, while the other groups showed deficits in growth significantly. Histological preparation of the thyroid gland were carried out under hematoxilyn eosin staining. Both 25% and 50% of raw soybean, raw cassava and raw cabbage produced colloid goiter. The study proved that foods locally grown in an iodine deficient area are goitrogenic.

The large population of human congestion in Makkah during Hajj would promote contagious diseases. Thus, the pilgrims require health care services that are efficient, effective, and high quality. The aim of this study is to determine the type of health-related problems among Malaysian pilgrims and to identify the health care services required by them during Hajj in Makkah. A cross-sectional study was conducted in which involved 379 Malaysian pilgrims in 2013/14234H. The survey was conducted after the pilgrims completed their Hajj ritual. A total of 400 sets of questionnaires were distributed at Abraj Janadriyah Hotel, which was occupied by more than 3000 Malaysian pilgrims. The response rate for this survey was 93%. Male respondents were constituted of 49.6% and female respondents were 50.4% with the mean age 52 years old. The underlying disease among Malaysian pilgrims during Hajj was respiratory disease (77.5%). The demands for health personnel (36.1%) and quality medication (34.7%) are among the important healthcare services required by the Malaysian pilgrims in Makkah. Respiratory disease is a common disease experienced by Malaysian pilgrims in Makkah. A certain types of services such as health personnel and quality medicine are strongly demanded by the Malaysian pilgrims to overcome their health problem during Hajj. This research provides a fundamental input to the health care providers, and also benefited the Hajj management authority to improve the quality of hajj management in future