Diabetes mellitus is an important cardiovascular risk factor. The objective of this study was to provide population-based estimates on the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control rate of diabetes among the older persons in Malaysia. Analysis of secondary data from a cross-sectional national population-based survey was done, which was conducted in 2011 throughout Malaysia. A total of 2764 respondents (15.5%) were older persons. The overall prevalence of diabetes among older persons was 34.4% in which 65.2% were aware of their diabetes status. Out of those who were aware, 87.5% had been treated. Only 21.8% of those treated had their diabetes controlled. The results of multiple logistic regression showed that the factors associated with higher awareness rates were women, Indians and higher income groups; factors associated with higher treatment rates were urban residents and those who were married and widow/widower/ divorcee. There was a high overall prevalence, awareness and treatment rate of diabetes among older persons in Malaysia but with suboptimal control rate.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Aged ; prevention & control ; Therapeutics

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is substantially higher in people seeking Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) as compared to the normal population. Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is one of the side effects of Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) which is rarely explored as it is regarded as a sensitive topic. This study aims to determine the prevalence of MDD and its association with ED among MMT clients. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 160 subjects who attended the Methadone outpatient clinic. The clients were given Patient Health Questionnaire-9 to screen for depressive symptoms and MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview to diagnose MDD. ED was diagnosed using the 5-item International Index of Erectile Function. The results showed the prevalence of depression in clients on MMT was 30.6% and the prevalence of ED was 72.5%. On multivariate analyses, there were significant associations between ED with depression (P<0.05). Smoking also was found to be contributed to depression. Sociodemographic factors, comorbid medical illnesses, and illicit substance use were found to have no associations with depression. Therefore, given the prevalence of MDD and ED in MMT clients was high, routine assessment of depressive symptoms and sexual function in clients on methadone should be done to minimize their negative impact on the clients

Objective: The onset of symptomatology in depression many a time occurs in adolescence. Although the symptoms of depression frequently appear during adolescence, the delays in detection often happen among young individuals due to the covert and internalizing nature of depression, self-embarrassments, attempts to conceal symptoms, and possibly due to poor insight. Cuijpers et al. (2006) demonstrated that early intervention especially in school will reduce the burden of disease later and yield better prognosis. Therefore, this study is aimed to evaluate the preliminary feasibility and practicality of a validated school-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) intervention program among Malaysian secondary school students who exhibits elevated depressive symptoms. Methods: A locally adapted and contextualized school-based CBT module for use with secondary school students having depressive symptoms was conducted via a single cohort study. The 8-session weekly CBT intervention was conducted among 10 (ten) Malaysian secondary school students (mean age=16) who reported elevated levels of depressive symptoms on a screening survey (N=98) via group approach. Results: The application of the validated school-based CBT module was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and negative automatic thoughts among the students who were observed through the repeated measures and this was sustained until 1-month follow up period. Conclusion: This study answered the feasibility and practicality of the execution of a clinically-based therapy as a school-based intervention. Furthermore, this study contributes greatly as a baseline evidence for future research in school-based intervention for Malaysian adolescents.