1.Effectiveness of selective risk based screening for Gestational Diabetes (GDM) in Malaysia: A retrospective cohort study based on the National Obstetric Registry (NOR) of Malaysia
Muniswaran Ganeshan ; Shahrul Aiman Soelar ; Shamala Devi Karalasingam ; Mohammad Adam Bujang ; Jeganathan R, M. ; Harris Suharjono
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2017;72(1):46-49
Introduction: Gestational diabetes (GDM) has significant
maternal and foetal implications. screening allows active
interventions which significantly improves pregnancy
outcomes. Despite World Health Organization (WHO), FIGO
and National Institute of clinical Excellence (NIcE)
recommendations for universal screening especially among
high risk population; Malaysia currently adopts a selective
risk based screening for GDM.
Objective: the objective is to audit the effectiveness of the
current practice of selective risk based screening in
detection of GDM in Malaysia.
Methodology: this is a retrospective cohort study based on
the National Obstetric Registry (NOR) which comprises of 14
major tertiary hospitals in Malaysia. the study period was
from 1st January 2011 till 31st December 2012 and a total of
22,044 patients with GDM were analysed. Logistic
regression analysis was used to calculate the crude odd
ratio.
Results: the incidence of GDM in Malaysia is 8.4%. Maternal
age of ≥25, booking bMI ≥27kg/m2, booking weight ≥80kg
and previous hypertension are non-significant risk of
developing GDM in Malaysia. Parity 5 and more was only
associated with an odds-ratio of 1.02 (95% confidence
Interval: 0.90-1.17) as compared to parity below 5. the
association of women with previous stillbirth with GDM was
not significant.
conclusion: current risk based screening for GDM based on
maternal age, booking bMI, weight and hypertension is
inappropriate. An ideal screening tool should precede
disease complications, which is the novel objective of
screening. Universal screening for GDM in Malaysia may be
a more accurate measure, especially with regards to
reducing maternal and foetal complications.
Diabetes, Gestational
2.Risk factors associated with soil transmitted helminth (STH) infection in two indigenous communities in Malaysia
Nisha, M. ; Aiman, M. ; Asyhira, N. ; Syafiq, H. ; Atiqah, N. ; Kumarasamy, V. ; Tan, M.P. ; Davamani, F.
Tropical Biomedicine 2020;37(No.2):379-388
Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) could possibly cause mild to severe health effects such as diarrhea, weakness, intestinal blood loss, and impaired cognitive development and growth. In Malaysia, previous studies depicted a high prevalence rate of STH was due to poor hygiene practice and low efficacies of anthelminthic drugs. This study was conducted to investigate hand hygiene practice and WASH criteria’s (Water, sanitation and hygiene) related to STH infection among two indigenous tribes in Peninsular Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was carried out to study the relationship among STH infection compared to water quality, sanitation, and hygiene conditions. A total of 190 individuals from two indigenous villages participated in the study, with ages ranging from 5 to 60 years old. In addition, Pearson’s Chisquare (X2) test was utilized to test the relationship among STH with demographic socioeconomic and behavioral factors. The confidence interval (CI) of 95% is used to estimate the precision of the odds ratio (OR). Multivariate logistic regression models were also used to identify the risk factors associated with STH infections. The overall findings indicated a prevalence rate of 72% for STH, and distributed mainly among children aged < 12 years. Furthermore, multivariate analyses using logistic regression revealed chronic health problems, incorrect hand washing, and walking bare footed were associated with STH infection. Overall results indicated high prevalence of STH among the indigenous villagers, which aligns with the published literature and proves to be a problem need to be addressed as neglected disease. Interestingly, there was a significant relationship between the presences of chronic diseases and STH infection, which prompted other questions the awareness needs to be educated and the simple and low-cost intervention on the proper way of hand washing may help to reduce STH infection in these indigenous communities.