1.Prevalence and Predictors of Suicidality Among Medical Students in A Public University
Tan Siew Tin ; Sherina Mohd Sidik ; Lekhraj Rampal ; Normala Ibrahim
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2015;70(1):1-5
Background: Undergraduate medical students have been
the most distressed group among the student population.
Depression and anxiety have been found to be more
prevalent in this group of students compared to others.
Objective: This study was conducted to determine the
prevalence and predictors of suicidality among
undergraduate medical students in a public university.
Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study,
conducted in a public university in Selangor, Malaysia. Data
were collected using self-administered questionnaires from
January to February 2013, and analysed using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences Software (version 21).
Results: Out of 625 undergraduate medical students, 537
(85.9%) participated in the study. The prevalence of the
suicidality among undergraduate medical students was
7.0%. The significant predictors of suicidality based on
multiple logistic regression were the respondent’s lifetime
suicide attempts (Adjusted Odds Ratio, AOR 10.4, 95% CI 2.7
to 40.9); depression (AOR 5.9, 95% CI 1.5 to 23.0); breaking
off a steady love relationship (AOR 5.4, 95% CI 1.3 to 22.4);
hopelessness (AOR 4.9, 95% CI 1.1 to 21.6); and something
valued being lost or stolen (AOR 4.4, 95% CI 1.2 to 15.9).
Conclusion: These findings indicate that mental health care
services should be strengthened at university level. The
results show a need for an intervention programme to
reduce suicidality among the undergraduate medical
students.
Students, Medical
;
Depression
2.Are Malaysians Getting Fatter and Rounder?: An Updated Systematic Review (2009 – 2015)
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2019;15(1):63-77
Overweight and obesity have become a serious health issue in worldwide and Malaysia is no exception. In view that obesity is one of the leading causes of non-communicable diseases, this systematic review aimed to explore whether Malaysian are getting fatter (overweight or obesity) and rounder (abdominal obesity). Searches of the published literature were conducted using 3 databases including EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PubMed. These were limited to cross-sectional or cohort studies in Malaysia. The databases provided the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity among 15 years old and above Malaysian population from 2009 to 2015. In total, 47 articles were included in this review. Findings exhibit that the prevalence rates of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity range from 9.5% to 43.5%, 1.77% to 26.4% and 11.4% to 57.4%, respectively. Overweight is more predominant among males. However, obesity and abdominal obesity are more predominant among females. This means that more females are getting fatter and “rounder” as compared to males in Malaysia. The findings imply a lack of intervention programmes based on proper randomized controlled trials which are needed to adequately address the problem of obesity in Malaysia.
Overweight
;
Obesity
3.Epilepsy research output in Southeast Asian countries: A systematic review
Minh-An Thuy Le ; Desin Pambudi Sejahtera ; Kheng-Seang Lim ; Siew-Tim Lai ; Chong-Tin Tan
Neurology Asia 2019;24(2):109-119
Objective: Epilepsy is understudied in Southeast Asian (SEA) countries. This systematic review
aimed to determine the number of epilepsy publications performed in SEA and identify factors
associated with research output in this region. Methods: Existing academic journal article searches
were performed using PubMed, Scopus, Medline and Web of Science till 1st March 2018. Openness
is determined by the use of English in medical school and overseas epilepsy fellowship. Results: A
total of 702 epilepsy articles have been published in the last 50 years in the SEA region, with an
exponential increase of publications after the year 1997, with the cumulative number doubled every
5 years. Only half (54%) were published in the journals with impact factor (IF) ≥1. Majority of the
publications (48.2%) employed cross sectional design, followed by animal or laboratory studies (21.1%), with few randomized controlled trials and systematic review/meta-analysis studies (1.7% and 2.3%, respectively). Half (52.9%) of the publications were clinical studies. The number of papers with IF≥1 correlated positively with openness to international standard (R=0.720, p<0.05), and knowledge-based economy (p=0.01). Conclusion: Epilepsy research output in SEA is low in quantity and quality. The output is mainly related to the type of economy (knowledge-based or non-knowledge-based) and openness to international ideas and standard.
4.Effectiveness of an integrated-Weight Management Programme (i-WMP) in Reducing Body Weight among Noncommunicable Disease Patients in Malaysian Government Primary Care Clinics: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Siew-Tin Tan ; Sherina Mohd-Sidik ; Lekhraj Rampal ; Kit-Aun Tan ; Zuriati Ibrahim ; Norliza Binti Ahmad ; Ummu Kalsum Mustapha ; Fuziah Paimin ; Nor Hazlin Talib ; Naemah Sharifuddin ; Normala Ibrahim
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2022;18(No.6):54-64
Introduction: Obesity is a global issue called as “globesity”. Overweight and obesity may lead to many noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Primary care is the first centre to monitor and follow-up the progress of NCD patients.
Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an integrated-Weight Management Programme (i-WMP) to reduce body weight among NCD patients from two Government primary care clinics from
Hulu Langat District. Methods: This study was single-blinded randomised controlled trial by design. There were 244
eligible patients were randomised into intervention (n = 122) or wait-list control group (n = 122). The i-WMP was
developed based on the behaviour change wheel through the operationalization of behaviour change techniques.
The duration of this intervention programme was four weeks. Data collected at week 0, week 4, and week 12. The
software IBM SPSS was used to analyse the data. Generalized linear mixed model analysis with intention-to-treat
principle was applied. Results: The retention rate was 74.2%. Findings showed that the i-WMP was significantly
effective in reducing not only body weight as primary outcome but also secondary outcomes such as waist-to-height
ratio, waist circumference, body mass index, and total sitting time. It also improved effectively other secondary outcomes such as participants’ knowledge, attitude, and practice towards dietary and towards physical activity. However, no significant changes were reported for body fat percentage and total physical activity metabolic equivalent of
task-minutes/week. Conclusion: Implications surrounding the implementation of i-WMP in the primary care clinics
are recommended.