The association between nutrition and cancer in general had been a controversial issue between scientists in the last three decades, because some argued that there is a relationship and some nutrients can help in preventing cancer occurrence, although this has not been a consistent finding by other studies. Studies were identified through a systematic review of literature available on PubMed in between 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2013. We included all studies that assessed nutrition or diet with occurrence or mortality of breast cancer. Out of 42 articles, we included 8 articles in our screening and discussion. Among these 8 studies, there were 2 case-controls, 3 cohort and 3 randomized control trials (RCT) studies. Although most studies reported that nutrition isassociated with decreased risk, some reported the contrary,whereas others reported no relation. It was demonstrated a conflict between the included papers in regards of the association between nutrition and breast cancer. These finding needs to be re-evaluated in future studies.

Great importance has been attributed to birth weight all over the world because it is considered as one of the best predictors of prenatal survival and a good indicator of quality life. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of low birth weight babies (LBW) and factors related to it in Baghdad city. A cross sectional study was carried out in four general hospitals in Baghdad city, Iraq. A total of 225 newborn babies, alive, singleton and without congenital malformation were selected randomly from these four general hospitals.The result of the study showed the prevalence rate of low birth weights was 21.3%. Mothers’ educational level, monthly family income, mothers with chronic hypertension, mothers with history of previous low birth weight infants and anemic mothers were significantly associated with low birth weight babies (P= 0.03, 0.01, 0.02,<0.01, 0.02) respectively. It is clearly evidenced the lack of equity in populations and disparity in socioeconomic status are common related factors for the low birth weight babies as can be seen as a public and global health problem.
Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Iraq

The unstable living situation in Iraq in the last 10 years after 2003 war affected the daily life of most Iraqis, and especially the children. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of an unstable living environment on children’s health. A community-based qualitative study was done to collect data from 20 mothers of children (age 7 to 8years old) through in-depth interview (IDI). Data was recorded using tape recorders and was later transcribed and analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis techniques. The majority of mothers interviewed said the past nine years of unstable security in the capital had affected their daily life; some mothers also expressed concern about their child’s nutritional status, their eating habits during the school day, and the unhealthy food being sold at school canteens. As a conclusion, the unstable living situations in Baghdad city after the last war had affected the cognitive and nutritional development of children. More precautions should be taken by parents to ensure their children safety in the future.
Economics ; Social Conditions ; Child ; Health ; Iraq

An increase in physical activity is a key component for effective weight loss. It helps to control weight loss by using excess calories as well as boosting metabolism and lowering insulin levels. Physical activity also helps prevent many chronic diseases and improve the overall human health. The objective of this study was to assess weight loss practice using physical activity strategies among working women in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 639 adult Malaysian working women were screened and 120 respondents were identified based on their experience of losing at least 10% of their highest lifetime body weight, which is a criterion for successful weight-loss. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from 120 successful weight loss respondents. Physical activity was measured by using International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short version. Results showed that 35.8% of women had low physical activity level; slightly above than one third of women (38.3%) had moderate activity level, while 25.8% women had high physical activity level.The most common physical activity monitoring strategies implemented were exercise at least 30 minutes per day (22.5%) and incorporate physical activity into daily life (21.7%). A total of 70.8% women regained weight after significant weight loss. A total of 40.0% who regained weight as compared to 25.7% of those who did not regain weight were physically inactive (p=0.138). There was no statistically significant different in daily sitting time between the two groups (p=0.627). As a conclusion, government working women in Kuala Lumpur have low to moderate physical activity levels. Majority women regained weight after significant weight loss. Common strategies to lose weight are exercise at least 30 minutes per day and incorporate physical activity into daily life. More education and promotion regarding the importance of physical activity should be done to all community members especially to the government working women.
Motor Activity ; Exercise

The uprising needs of traditional & complementary medicine (T&CM) despite the availability of conventional medical (CVM) treatments has gained a serious concern to the authorities in hospital care delivery systems. It was about suffices the supply and demand for T&CM and its absence may interfere the quality of patient care. Malaysia was not exempted of this phenomenon. Moreover, its rich tropical biodiversity and multi-ethnical medical systems promoted T&CM usage. This research was aimed to determine the overall T& CM preferences, the preferred future patient care services (FPCS) and its socio-demographic and warding characteristics. Using a self-administered standardised questionnaire, instrumented by cross sectional study, a total 132 warded patients in a UKM Medical Center (UKMMC) were interviewed. T&CM preferences were the composite of seven domains. The finding revealed that the T&CM preference was 64.4%, dominated by older age (66.2%), women (68.2%), low education (66.0%), employed (66.7%), high income (67.5%) and married (66.0%). Oncology (81.3%) and orthopaedic (75.7%) ward patients were more in preference compared to other wards. When asked about the FPCS preference, about 80.3% expected integrative medicine services to be provided, whereas the remaining were still exclusively preferred modern medicine (15.2%) and alternative medicine (4.5%) respectively. As conclusion, this study has affirmed that there is a great need towards T&CM among hospitalized patients who are accessible to modern CVM.

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.

Maternal self-efficacy in breastfeeding is one of the potential modifiable factors which is consistently linked with positive breastfeeding outcomes. This study aimed to develop a Malay translation of the original English BSES-SF and to conduct a validity and reliability assessment on both antenatal and postnatal questionnaires among 101 pregnant women in their third trimester and 104 women on their first week postpartum. The Malay translation of the English BSES-SF was conducted by using back-to-back translation processes, followed by validity and reliability evaluation. The validated Malay version of the questionnaire BSES-SF was then administered on the respondents. The questionnaire comprised of socio-demographic, antenatal, and breastfeeding information. Furthermore, data on infant feeding method were collected via telephone call made to the respondents at four weeks postpartum. The Cronbach’s Alpha value for antenatal BSES-SF questionnaire was0.94, while the value for postnatal BSES-SF questionnaire was 0.95. The factor analysis identified a one-dimensional structure which able to explain 59.02% of the variance for antenatal questionnaire and 60.43% of the variance for postnatal questionnaire. In addition, high antenatal and postnatal breastfeeding self-efficacy scores were significantly associated with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding at four weeks postpartum. As a conclusion, Both Malay versions of the antenatal and postnatal BSES-SF questionnaires are valid and reliable tools to assess breastfeeding self-efficacy among Malaysian mothers.
Malay Version ; breastfeeding ; breastfeeding self-efficacy

Bullying can be projected through many ways, are affected by many factors and can bring about a lot of consequences. The aim of this research was to identify the association between bullying factors such as age, gender, race, family income, family structure with bullying among high school students in one of Selangor high schools in year 2018 also its consequences towards depression, stress and anxiety. A cross sectional study was conducted among 337 students. The validated Multidimensional Peer-Victimization Scale (MPVS) and Mental Health Screening Status-20 (MHSS-20) questionnaire was used to classify the prevalence, types, associating factors and the consequences of bullying. The prevalence of bullying was found to be 63.5%. The percentage of bullying is higher among those with mean age of 14 years old. As for the gender, percentage among male is higher compared to female which is 62%. As for the family background, students who have family income above RM 7000 (about 1700 USD) has higher percentage of bullying which is 51.9%, and for students with low academic performance have the highest percentage of bullying (57%) and it was found that bullying was significantly associated with age and with p value of <0.001, gender of p value 0.009, academic performance shows p value of 0.049 and mental health status with <0.001 p value.
Bullying ; High school students ; Mental Health

Men’s health remain unclear term for majority of general population as well as physician worlwide. Nowadays there is an increase interest in addressing men’s requirement in health care as a separate branch. When discussing about men’s health, it is fair to say that even a man himself does not know much about men’s health. Most of them think that men’s health is just a discussion on sex. This thought is not entirely right. The scope of men’s health is actually larger than the male sex organ itself. To define men’s health, we have to look at man holistically.
Health Services ; Delivery of Health Care ; Men

The evolution in lifestyle and dietary habits of the Malaysian people that have taken place over the last few decades can be largely attributed to both family and social environment. These factors are known to affect the nutritional status of the community, in both children and adults. Reduced physical activity and changes in their diet have been one of the contributing factors to the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity. However, in Malaysia, in which nutrition transition has been a norm, it is worrying when the trends of overweight and obesity have been rising steadily over the years especially among children. Although numerous strategies to control obesity in Malaysia have been taking place, many had shown little effect. Analysing strategies implemented at national level is thus crucial in order to ascertain reasons for the shortfalls of these strategies especially among children. Obesity most commonly begins as early as the ages of 5 and 6 years, or during adolescence. Obesity is indeed a major public health concern due to its huge negative impact on the society at large which is well supported by evidence-based literatures. Managing this issue is complex and holistic approach is thus crucial in reducing its incidence and prevalence.