Sociodemographic factors have received considerable attention in the literature with regards its relationship with caries. However, the related information among children ages 12-17 is fairly limited. Birth order has been consistently found to be associated with diseases hypothesized to have an infectious aetiology but only few studies have examined its relationship with dental caries. The aims of this study were to determine the association of birth order and the sociodemographic background of subjects with caries and high caries experience among 16-year-old schoolchildren in Tumpat district, Kelantan. This was a case-control study. A total of 1087 16-year-old schoolchildren were examined intraorally for their caries status. They were categorized into three groups namely caries free (DMFS=0) mild caries (DMFS= 1-7) and high caries (DMFS ≥8) group based on DMFS score. Cases were the caries group and the controls were the caries free group. In each group, 163 subjects were selected by using simple random sampling. A questionnaire was used to obtain personal information of the subjects, birthweight and sociodemographic background. Analysis involved was ordinal logistic regression. The factor that was found to have association with caries and high caries experience determined using multiple ordinal logistic regression analysis was educational level of parents (OR=1.55, 95% CI: 1.06; 2.28). This study showed that birth order was not a significant factor associated with caries experience. Among the sociodemographic factors, only parent’s educational level was found to be associated with caries and high caries experience.
Caries, NOS ; experience ; Birth Order ; Relationship by association ; Educational Status

The purpose of this study was to determine the timing and sequence of emergence of the first 28 permanent teeth in a cross-section of Malay children in the district of Kota Bharu, in northeastern Peninsula Malaysia. The sample consists of 478 boys and 908 girls of Malay descent aged between 5-19 years. The criterion for tooth emergence was the appearance of the tooth through the gingivae. Descriptive statistics were calculated and probit regression analysis performed to determine the mean age of emergence of the permanent dentition. The mean age at emergence was found to conform to general trends, with emergence seen earlier in girls than in boys. Comparisons were made with the Chinese (Hong Kong) and the Punjabi (Chandigarh) profiles, which showed earlier emergence timings in those ethnic groups. The emergence timing in Malays, however, was earlier than in Thais (Central Thailand). The sequence of emergence was determined by referring to the mean age of tooth emergence of individual teeth and conforms to the general trend seen in other studies.
Tooth ; Malaysia ; Age, NOS ; trends ; Central brand of multivitamin with minerals

INTRODUCTIONThis study aimed to compare the quality of life based on the Short Form-36 (SF-36) between two different groups of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with glycaemic control: those with a glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) level at or below 7.5 percent and those above 7.5 percent.

METHODSIn this cross-sectional study, a generic SF-36 questionnaire was self-administered to patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Based on the HbA1c level, the mean SF-36 scale scores were compared. The analysis of covariance was used to obtain the adjusted mean scores of the SF-36 scales while controlling for age and duration of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

RESULTS150 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were analysed. There were 63 (42 percent) women and 87 (58 percent) men, and their mean HbA1c level was 8.9 percent (SD 2.4 percent). When comparing the two groups of patients with different HbA1c levels, the adjusted means of four scales: physical health functioning, general health, social functioning and mental health, differed significantly between the two. The SF-36 scale scores in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients were also lower than those of the SF-36 norms for the Malaysian population.

CONCLUSIONType 2 diabetes mellitus patients with poor glycaemic control had lower mean SF-36 scores in physical functioning, general health, social functioning and mental health, and the SF-36 scores in these patients were also lower than the SF-36 norms of the Malaysian population.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; blood ; Female ; Glycated Hemoglobin A ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Quality of Life ; Young Adult

Nosocomial blood stream infection (or nosocomial bacteremia) is a common problem in hospitals worldwide, including Malaysia. A three-year prospective cohort study (October 2003-March 2007) of the incidences, risk factors, and patterns of the microorganisms causing bacteremia was conducted using a validated surveillance form in three intensive care units (ICUs) in Malaysia. Center for Disease Control criteria were used to diagnose bacteremia. Patients were monitored from admission until the end point of study, which was the first detection of bacteremia in the blood in each patient. The frequency of occurrence of bacteremia with clinical symptoms was 10.7% (n = 23). Bacteremia was observed to occur within a mean length of stay of 10 days in ICU. The rate of device-related infection was 10.4% per device utilization days with a device utilization rate of 95.9%/1000 patient days. The total number of patient days was 2309 and the period of device utilization was 2211 days. The common bacteria detected were extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 6); Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 6); Acinetobacter species (n = 5); Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)(n = 3); and (non- ESBL) Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 2). Multivariable analysis using Cox Proportional Hazard Model showed that the predictors for developing bacteremia were cancer, MRSA carriage, duration of central venous catheter (CVC) infusion, frequency change of CVC, and the administration of hydrocortisone drugs. These results indicate that a combination of nursing and medical interventions as well as patients' severity of illness could lead to bacteremia in ICU. Strategic implementation of quality assurance measures in ICUs could help to control this problem.

Introduction: Lower limb amputations have a profound impact on the quality of life (QoL) of the patients. This study was done to assess the QoL of patients with transtibial (below-the-knee) amputations (TTA) and transtibial amputees fitted with prosthesis. Materials and Methods: A case-control study of patients who had undergone TTA from 2015 to 2018 was conducted in Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital (RIPAS). Complete data was available for 30 subjects and it was compared with 30 diabetic, non-amputee patients matched for age and gender. QoL was assessed using the RAND 36Item Health Survey (SF-36) and the functional outcome of prosthesis-fitted transtibial amputees was assessed using the Houghton Scale. Results:Almost all cases of TTA were a result of vascular problems related to diabetes and chronic renal disease (n=29; 97%). Eighteen (60%) participants were fitted with prosthesis and 15 (50%) reported having phantom pain. QoL of participants was found to be significantly lower than that of age and sex-matched diabetic non-amputees with regards to physical functioning, role limitation due to physical health, emotional well-being, social functioning, and bodily pain. The mean Houghton Score for participants fitted with prosthesis was 4.89 (SD= 2.83) suggesting low functional outcome. Conclusion: TTA has a negative impact on the QoL of patients, especially in terms of functionality. The availability of prosthesis does not significantly improve the quality of life except in the physical functioning domain. Emotional well-being should be emphasised more in the rehabilitation process as this study found poor emotional well-being among participants.