1.Leisure Time Physical Activities among Adult Attendees at a Primary Health Care Clinic
Hejar Abdul Rahman ; Nur Hazrina Iskandar ; Lim Wai Kong
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2007;3(2):29-36
Objectives: This cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the leisure-time physical activities of adult attendees in a rural health clinic in July 2002. Methods: Simple random sampling method of the clinic register was used. Data was collected via a face-to-face interview using a pre-tested questionnaire. Results: A majority (73%) of these attendees performed leisure-time physical activity. The majority were between 20 to 29 years (p<0.05), females (p>0.05), Kadazan, Iban and Orang Asli (p>0.05), had attained tertiary education (p<0.05) and were employees with monthly income of more than RM1500 (p>0.05). They were also fee from chronic illnesses. The most common activities were walking, aerobic dancing and gardening. Physical and mental wellness, advice from doctor and support from family and friends were the reasons for performing these activities. The reasons for not performing leisure physical activity were (i) being too busy, (ii) already active at workplace, and (iii) being unwell. Conclusions: Sustained community interventions in the community couldd prove useful to encourage individuals to carry out leisure-time physical activities.
2.Prevalence and Predictors of Intestinal Worm Infections Among Semai Aboriginal Tribe School Children in Tapah, Malaysia
Olawumi Edward Tunbosun ; Lekhraj Rampal ; Hejar Abdul Rahman ; Roslaini Abdul Majid
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2017;13(1):27-34
Introduction: Worm infection is one of the major global public health problems especially among rural communities.
Objectives: to determine the prevalence of intestinal worm infection and factors associated among Semai Aboriginal
children aged between 6 to 13 years in Tapah, Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used in this
study. The estimated sample size was 508. Data was collected using a validated pretested questionnaire. Faecal
samples were also examined. Data was analysed using SPSS version 22. Results: The response rate was 80.9%.
The overall mean age of the 411 respondents was 10.1 years(95% CI = 9.89, 10.22). Majority (71.5%) were poor.
Prevalence of intestinal worm infections was 60.8% and 57.2% had multiple infections. The multiple logistic
regression analysis showed that those with poor hygiene practices were 2.18 times the odds of worm infection
when compared with children with good hygiene practices (95% CI = 1.4, 3.4). Similarly, poor attitudes towards
prevention of worm infection increased the odds of having worm infection by 1.62 times among Orang Asli children.
Children living without toilets had 2.45 times higher odds as compared with those who had proper toilets. Absence
of river near by these areas where there is no safe water supply also increases the risk of worm infection among
children by 1.84 times among Orang Asli children. Conclusions: the prevalence of worm infection is still very
high among rural Aboriginal community. Current control measures should be reassessed to enable introduction of
effective measures to reduce the worm infection among Orang Asli children.
3.Risk Factors Associated with Contact Lens Related Microbial Keratitis
Lili Asma Ismail ; Lekhraj Rampal ; Hejar Abdul Rahman ; Nazri Omar ; Habshah Midi ; Azrin Esmady Ariffin
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2016;12(1):1-8
Introduction: Microbial keratitis is one of the most challenging complications of contact lens (CL)
wear. Proper CL practice plays an important role to reduce the risk for contact lens related microbial
keratitis (CLRMK). Methods: This multi-centre case-control study was conducted from January 2008
until June 2009 to determine the risk factors associated with CLRMK. Cases were defined as respondents
who were treated for CLRMK, whilst controls were respondents who were contact lens wearers without
microbial keratitis. Ninety four cases were compared to 94 controls to determine the risk factors for
CLRMK. Results: The predictors for CLRMK were: Not washing hands with soap before handling CL
(aOR 2.979, CI 1.020, 8.701 p=0.046), not performing rubbing technique whilst cleaning the CL (aOR
3.006, CI 1.198, 7.538 p=0.019) and, not cleaning the lens case with multipurpose solution daily (aOR
3.242 CI 1.463, 7.186 p=0.004). Sleeping overnight with the CL in the eye (aOR 2.864, CI 0.978, 8.386
p=0.049) and overall non-compliance with lens care procedures (aOR 2.590, CI 1.003, 6.689 p=0.049)
contributed significantly to CLRMK. Conclusion: Health education and promotion in contact lens care
are important and should be conducted by eye care practitioners to reduce the occurrence of CLRMK.
Contact Lenses
4.Visual Status following Contact Lens Related Microbial Keratitis
Lili Asma Ismail ; Lekhraj Rampal ; Nazri Omar ; Hejar Abdul Rahman ; Habshah Midi ; Azrin Esmady Ariffin
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2016;12(2):24-29
Introduction: A hospital based case control study was
conducted in government hospitals on contact lens patients
diagnosed with microbial keratitis. Methods: The objective of
this study is to determine the visual outcomes of contact lens
related microbial keratitis. The visual outcomes which
comprised of visual acuity, keratometry readings, corneal
topography findings and contrast sensitivity examinations was
determined after three months from the first presentation at the
hospitals. Results: The mean LogMAR visual acuity during
presentation was 0.96 ± 0.73 or a Snellen equivalent 6/60 (n=76)
and mean LogMAR visual acuity after three months was 0.10 ±
0.48 or a Snellen equivalent 6/7.5 (n=76) with a significant
difference (t=11.22, df=78, p=0.001). Best fit curve for the cases
had a regression coefficient, r=0.350 ± 0.063 (95% CI = 0.224,
0.447, df=78, p=0.001. The visual acuity in cases and controls
was 0.10 ± 0.48 and -0.10 ± 0.14 respectively (t= -3.61, df=154
p=0.001) after three months which showed improvement. There
was a reduction in the corneal uniformity index and corneal
asphericity in the cases. The Corneal Uniformity Index (CU
index) in cases was 63.03 ± 26.38 (n=76) and in controls, 80.13
± 11.30 (n=77), (t= -5.22, df=151, p=0.001). There was also a
reduction in the contrast sensitivity function at all spatial
frequencies in the cases which was significantly different.
Conclusion: Microbial keratitis reduced the vision, corneal
uniformity index, asphericity and contrast sensitivity after three
months in eyes of patients diagnosed with the condition.
Keratitis
;
Eye
5.Perceived Norms and Smoking Status among Secondary School Students in Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia
Lim Kuang Hock ; Sumarni Mohd Ghazali ; Kee Chee Cheong ; Hejar Abdul Rahman ; Amal Nasir Mustafa
International Journal of Public Health Research 2012;2(1):85-92
Social norms, though an important contributing factor of adolescent smoking in developed countries, has not been extensively studied in Malaysia. The objective of this study was to determine the association between certain perceived norms regarding smoking with smoking status among Malaysian secondary school students in Kota Tinggi, Johor. Data were collected from 2311 respondents consisting of 1379 male and 923 female secondary school students in Kota Tinggi district via a self administered questionnaire. Five perceived norms regarding smoking were assessed, namely: perceived peer smoking prevalence, perceived parental reaction towards adolescent smoking, perceived public perception of adolescent smoking, ever noticed peers smoking inside and outside school and perceived enforcement of anti-smoking policy in school and their association with smoking status. Multiple logistic regressions controlling for gender, peer smoking and family smoking was performed. Of the five perceived norms, four were associated with smoking status, (perceived peer smoking prevalence (p<0.001value), ever seen friends smoking inside or outside school (p <0.001), perceived parental reaction towards adolescent smoking (p<0.001 value) and perceived public disapproval (p <0.001)). Higher odds for smoking was observed for adolescents who: perceived a few (aOR 3.22), many (aOR 3.01) or a lot (aOR 3.52) of their peers smoke; had ever observed friends smoking in or outside of school (aOR 1.79); perceived their parents will react badly to smoking (aOR 0.84) or perceived the public disapprove of smoking (aOR 0.93). These results suggest that perception of social norms influence adolescents’ decision to smoke, thus measures to curb smoking incidence amongst adolescents should address these perceptions of social norms.
Smoking
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Students
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Adolescent
;
Social Behavior
;
Life Style
6.Erratum: Health Blief Model-based intervention to improve nutritional behavior among elderly women.
Jamileh Amirzadeh IRANAGH ; Hejar Abdul RAHMAN ; Seyedeh Ameneh MOTALEBI
Nutrition Research and Practice 2016;10(4):471-471
We made a mistake in presenting author affiliations.
7.Health Blief Model-based intervention to improve nutritional behavior among elderly women.
Jamileh Amirzadeh IRANAGH ; Hejar Abdul RAHMAN ; Seyedeh Ameneh MOTALEBI
Nutrition Research and Practice 2016;10(3):352-358
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Nutrition is a determinant factor of health in elderly people. Independent living in elderly people can be maintained or enhanced by improvement of nutritional behavior. Hence, the present study was conducted to determine the impact of Health Belief Model (HBM)-based intervention on the nutritional behavior of elderly women. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Cluster-random sampling was used to assess the sample of this clinical trial study. The participants of this study attended a 12-week nutrition education program consisting of two (2) sessions per week. There was also a follow-up for another three (3) months. Smart PLS 3.5 and SPSS 19 were used for structural equation modeling, determination of model fitness, and hypotheses testing. RESULTS: The findings indicate that intervention had a significant effect on knowledge improvement as well as the behavior of elderly women. The model explained 5 to 70% of the variance in nutritional behavior. In addition, nutritional behavior was positively affected by the HBM constructs comprised of perceived susceptibility, self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and barriers after the intervention program. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that HBM-based educational intervention has a significant effect in improving nutritional knowledge and behavior among elderly women.
Aged*
;
Education
;
Female
;
Follow-Up Studies
;
Humans
;
Independent Living
8.Health Blief Model-based intervention to improve nutritional behavior among elderly women.
Jamileh Amirzadeh IRANAGH ; Hejar Abdul RAHMAN ; Seyedeh Ameneh MOTALEBI
Nutrition Research and Practice 2016;10(3):352-358
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Nutrition is a determinant factor of health in elderly people. Independent living in elderly people can be maintained or enhanced by improvement of nutritional behavior. Hence, the present study was conducted to determine the impact of Health Belief Model (HBM)-based intervention on the nutritional behavior of elderly women. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Cluster-random sampling was used to assess the sample of this clinical trial study. The participants of this study attended a 12-week nutrition education program consisting of two (2) sessions per week. There was also a follow-up for another three (3) months. Smart PLS 3.5 and SPSS 19 were used for structural equation modeling, determination of model fitness, and hypotheses testing. RESULTS: The findings indicate that intervention had a significant effect on knowledge improvement as well as the behavior of elderly women. The model explained 5 to 70% of the variance in nutritional behavior. In addition, nutritional behavior was positively affected by the HBM constructs comprised of perceived susceptibility, self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and barriers after the intervention program. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that HBM-based educational intervention has a significant effect in improving nutritional knowledge and behavior among elderly women.
Aged*
;
Education
;
Female
;
Follow-Up Studies
;
Humans
;
Independent Living
9.Dietary Compliance, Dietary Supplementation and Traditional Remedy Usage of Type 2 Diabetic Patients With and Without Cardiovascular Disease.
Mun Chieng TAN ; Ooi Chuan NG ; Teck Wee WONG ; Anthony JOSEPH ; Abdul Rahman HEJAR ; Abdul Aziz RUSHDAN
Clinical Nutrition Research 2015;4(1):18-31
This analytical cross-sectional study examined the nutrient intakes, dietary compliance, dietary supplementation and traditional remedy usage in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients from selected tertiary hospitals in multi-racial Malaysia. We compared the different characteristics of T2DM patients with and without cardiovascular disease (CVD). Socio-demographic status, dietary intakes, dietary supplementation, traditional remedy use, medical history, anthropometric measurements and clinical characteristics were obtained from face-to-face interviews. A total of 313 patients who were treated for T2DM participated in this study, in which 36.1% of them had CVD. The mean age of study subjects was 55.7 +/- 9.2 years; mean diabetes duration was 10.1 +/- 8.1 years; 52.1% were females; and 47.0% were Malays. The mean total energy intake of the subjects was 1674 +/- 694 kcal/day, and patients with CVD consumed higher total calories (p = 0.001). Likewise, the mean carbohydrate, protein and total fat intake of CVD patients were significantly higher than non-CVD patients (p < 0.05), while mean intakes of cholesterol, fibre, minerals and all vitamins were comparable between CVD and non-CVD patients. Regardless of CVD status, a notably high proportion of the subjects did not meet the recommendations of the Medical Nutrition Therapy Guidelines for Type 2 Diabetes for total energy, carbohydrate, protein, total fat, and fibre intakes. Meanwhile, 52.4% used at least one dietary supplement and 12.1% took single traditional remedy or in various combinations. Traditional remedies and supplement intake did not differ between CVD and non-CVD subjects. It is suggested that T2DM patients should be educated based on their personalized dietary intake, dietary supplementation and traditional remedy usage. The recommendations for T2DM patients shall be met to achieve the optimal metabolic goals and minimize the potential diabetic complications.
Cardiovascular Diseases*
;
Cholesterol
;
Compliance*
;
Cross-Sectional Studies
;
Diabetes Complications
;
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
;
Dietary Supplements*
;
Energy Intake
;
Female
;
Humans
;
Malaysia
;
Minerals
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Nutrition Therapy
;
Tertiary Care Centers
;
Vitamins
10.Biochemical Effects of Statins on Lipid Parameters among Newly Diagnosed Dyslipidaemia Subjects in Primary Care
Meor Fairuz Rizal Meor Anuar Shuhaili ; Intan Nureslyna SAMSUDIN ; Chew Boon HOW ; Hejar Abdul RAHMAN ; Johnson STANSLAS ; Shariful HASAN ; Zalinah AHMAD ; Subashini C. THAMBIAH
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2018;14(1):7-14
Introduction: Statins have several pleiotropic effects including its primary effect of lipid lowering that is important to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). Subjects often have heterogeneous responses to statin. This study aims to determine the biochemical effects of statins on lipid parameters among newly diagnosed dyslipidaemia subjects. Methods: This was a prospective observational study involving 118 newly diagnosed adults with dyslipidaemia from three government health clinics in Selangor, Malaysia. Biochemical analyses including fasting lipid profile [triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)] and apolipoproteins (apoA1, apoB) were taken at baseline and follow-up after a month on statin. Results: Majority of subjects (61.9%) were prescribed with lovastatin, with the rest on simvastatin. At baseline, the median values for all lipid profile parameters (TC, LDL-C, HDL-C) and non-conventional lipid parameters (LDL-C:HDL-C ratio, non-HDL-C, TC:HDL-C ratio, apoB:apoA1 ratio) were deranged except for TG and apoA1. On follow up, all parameters showed median values within the reference range except for HDL-C, non-HDL-C and TC:HDL-C ratio. There was significant difference in the effect of statins on lipid parameters including predictors of cardiovascular risk, simvastatin having better effects. Conclusions: Different statinshave varying effects on lipid parameters. Simvastatin showed significantly better effects compared to lovastatin. Non-HDL value should be included in the standard lipid profile report given its ease of use and implementation as it’s both a marker of coronary artery disease (CAD) risk stratification as well as an established determinant of goal attainment during therapy.