Uncontrolled use of pesticides in agriculture may result in increased health risks. Organophosphate (OP) pesticides are widely used among vegetable farmers to control pests and increase productivity. The aim is to determine the organophosphate exposure, associated risk factors, and exposure risk assessment among vegetable farmers in Sabah. A cross-sectional study design in Kundasang, Sabah, Malaysia. We took a blood sample from participants for blood cholinesterase concentration measurements of pesticide exposure using the rapid test kit model Lovibond AF267. A validated questionnaire was used to collect the associated risk factors of vegetable farmers. The Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, Risk Control (HIRARC) guidelines were used for exposure risk assessment of OP exposure. The response rate was 91.1%. About 23.3% (38 out of 163) have abnormal blood cholinesterase. The significant associated risk factors were age [aOR=1.07, 95%CI (1.02,1.13)], Body Mass Index [aOR=8.60, 95%CI (2.80,26.51)], frequency of exposure a month [aOR=5.99, 95%CI (1.29,27.76)], had not attended pesticide safety training [aOR=9.08, 95%CI (2.97,27.74)], no designated pesticide storage [aOR=6.92, 95%CI (1.70,28.25)] and low practices scores on pesticide handling [aOR=6.01, 95%CI (1.97,18.36)]. The exposure risk assessment level for vegetable farmers was at low-medium risk. Organophosphate exposure among the vegetable farmers in Kundasang was higher than in other settings. The risk factors associated with organophosphate exposure were related to inadequate compliance to the standard occupational safety and health practices in agriculture. Exposure assessment revealed the opportunity for improvement by implementing the recommended control measures. Vegetable farmers need continuous support from relevant authorities. Further research is required to understand better the health risks among vegetable smallholder farmers in Sabah.

Stress is accepted as the accumulation of unpleasant state of physical, mental and emotion on a person. Medical education has been known as one of the most stressful academic curriculum. Hence, medical students may subjected to multiple psychological changes and challenges throughout the years of medical education. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of stress and its associated factors among medical students. This cross sectional study was conducted from April to May 2018 in medical school in Sabah. It involved 396 medical students through universal sampling. Self-administered questionnaires were used as an instrument for data collection. The questionnaires included were Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales 21 (DASS-21) and Medical Student Stressors Questionnaire (MSSQ). Bivariate analysis (Chi Square test, Fisher’s Exact Test, Independent T test and Man-Whitney U test) were used to analyse the association. The response rate was 90.2%. The prevalence of stress among medical students were 33.3%. Significant associated factors include financial support inadequacy (p=0.010) and all categories of medical student stressors. The mean score of the academic related stressors was found to be at 2.117 (±0.758) which was the highest mean score among medical student stressors assessed by MSSQ. The result of this study can be used as a basis for implementation of preventive measures such as provision of comprehensive, integrated and responsive mental health care services in university-based settings.
Stress, stressor, medical students, medical education, mental health, DASS, MSSQ

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 116 male pre-cast construction workers in Sipitang, Sabah to evaluate the association between Ergonomic Risk Level exposure and their working performances for 6 months (June to November 2014). Initially, a structured interview using a modified-Standardized Nordic Questionnaire was conducted on each study subject to determine the prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs). The results showed that 93 out of 116 subjects (80.17%) complained of experiencing ache, pain or body discomfort during and after work with high percentage of MSDs prevalence affecting the wrist (78.5%), shoulder (73.1%), and lower leg (71.0%) regions of the body. Pictures and videos of workers performing their routine tasks were analyzed using Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) tool to generate individual Ergonomic Risk Level classification. The results showed that all subjects were exposed to Medium (56.90%), High (29.31%) and Very High (13.79%) level of Ergonomic Risk. Pearson Correlation and One-way ANOVA test was conducted to determine the association between Ergonomic Risk Level and the subjects’ individual working performances. The results indicated that there was a significant negative association between Ergonomic Risk Level and the workers' performances in terms of tendency to work overtime (p<.001, r=-.55) and the frequency of taking unpaid leaves (p=.038, r=.56). In conclusion, continuous exposure to significant Ergonomic Risk Level among the pre-cast construction workers has triggered the development of MSDs which eventually affected their working performances.
Pre-cast construction ; Ergonomic Risk Level ; Rapid Entire Body Assessment ; Musculoskeletal Disorders ; Working Performances.