1.Anti-diabetic medication burden amongst older persons with diabetes and associated quality of life
Mohd Shaiful Ehsan Bin Shalihin ; Abdullah Bin Fauzi ; Nurul Afiqah binti Zulkifli ; Azrul Aziz bin Abdul Azi
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(5):525-530
Background: Older persons with diabetes are the major
demographic of diabetic patients followed up in primary
health clinics. Despite their increasing age and morbidities,
they are still being managed strictly towards good sugar
control in order to achieve the ideal HbA1c level without
taking their quality of life into consideration. This study
aimed to determine the prevalence in the use of antidiabetic
drugs among older persons with diabetes and its
association with their quality of life.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted
among 269 older persons with diabetes in all government
health clinics in Kuantan using Diabetes Quality of Life
questionnaire. SPSS version 23 was used for the statistical
analysis.
Results: Majority of the respondents were females (61%),
Malays (84.8%), pensioners (54.3%) with education up to
primary school (52%) and are staying with family members
(93.7%). Most of the patients were on two antidiabetic agents
(48%) followed by a single antidiabetic agent (32%). Despite
the risk of hypoglycaemia, 0.4% of them are on
glibenclamide. The use of insulin is still common among
21% of them that are on intermediate-acting insulin, 15.6%
on premixed insulin and 7.8% on short-acting insulin. Those
taking a higher number of antidiabetic agents were found to
be associated with poorer quality of life (p=0.001) compared
to those taking one or two antidiabetic medications. Those
on insulin also have significantly poorer quality of life score
(p=0.012).
Conclusion: Despite aiming for controlled diabetes, older
persons suffer poor quality of life with further intensification
of their antidiabetic medications according to the guidelines.
This includes the complexity of insulin usage and
polypharmacy, which contribute to the low quality of life
score.
2.Nematode control failure due to anthelmintic resistance in a sheep farm in Malaysia: First identification of the F200Y mutation in the isotype 1 β-tubulin gene
Khadijah, S. ; Wahaf, A.N.S. ; Syahmi, M.I. ; Tan, T.K. ; Low, V.L. ; Azrul, L.M. ; Chong, J.L ; Lim, Y.A.L ; Abdullah, C.I.
Tropical Biomedicine 2018;35(4):999-1006
This paper reports total nematode anthelmintic resistance towards albendazole,
fenbendazole, levamisole and ivermectin in a commercial sheep farm located in Terengganu,
Malaysia. Faecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT) was conducted on 25 sheep, where
five sheep in each group were treated with the respective four anthelmintics based on live
bodyweight. The balance of five sheep placed in the control group were not treated with
any anthelmintics. At day 13 post-treatment, faecal egg count was conducted and nematode
worm egg count reduction percentage was calculated to determine the resistance status
towards the respective anthelmintics tested. Results showed that nematodes were resistant
to all the anthelmintics tested, namely albendazole, fenbendazole, levamisole and ivermectin
with reduction percentage of 87%, 46%, 94% and 68%, respectively. Subsequently, the third
stage larvae of Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus colubriformis recovered
from post-treatment faecal cultures were subjected to allele-specific polymerase chain
reaction (AS-PCR) assay to determine the presence of the benzimidazole resistance gene.
This study reports the occurrence of the classical F200Y mutation in the isotype 1 β-
tubulin gene, for the first time in Malaysia.
3.ABO Blood Group and Its Associated Factors Among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients
Sharifah Azdiana Tuan Din ; Mastura Mohd Sopian ; Nur Dalila Nabihan Ahmad Tajuddin ; Azrul Abdullah
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2022;18(No.4):62-66
Introduction: ABO blood group can be associated with chronic diseases, for example, cancer and coronary heart
disease, however it is not proven in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). The aim of this study was to identify the association between the ABO blood group and disease control among T2DM patients at Kepala Batas, Penang. Methods:
Approximately two mL vials of fresh blood were collected and typed using the tube method from 129 T2DM and 132
non-diabetic (control) patients, who visited the specialist clinic. The sociodemographic characteristics of the T2DM
patients was analysed using descriptive analysis. The proportions of A, B, AB, and O blood groups among the diabetic and control patients were compared using the chi-square test. Any association between the ABO blood group
and disease control was identified using the bivariate correlation test. Results: No significant association was found
between the ABO group and T2DM patients (p = 0.152) when compared with the control group. However, blood
group B was the most frequent among T2DM patients (33.3%) compared to blood group O within the control group
(36.4%). Negative associations were observed between the ABO blood group and BMI (r = 0.098, p = 0.268), as well
as the HbA1C value (r = -0.065, p = 0.464). Conclusion: No association was found between the ABO blood group
and the associated risk factors (BMI and HbA1C). However, individuals with blood group B and risk factors, such as
older age group, obesity, and high HbA1C value (more than 7.0%), should be monitored.