ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BODY MASS INDEX AND DIABETES MELLITUS CONTROL CLASSIFICATION AMONG PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: EVIDENCE FROM THE NATIONAL DIABETES REGISTRY OF MUAR DISTRICT HEALTH OFFICE, MALAYSIA, FROM JANUARY 2021 TO JULY 2023 Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases globally. This study aimed to determine the association between body mass index (BMI) and diabetes mellitus (DM) control among patients with T2DM. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted from October 2023 to June 2024 using secondary data from the National Diabetes Registry (NDR) of Muar District Health Office, Johor. Patients with T2DM registered in the NDR and audited from 2021 to July 2023 were included. The association between BMI and DM control was analysed using hierarchical multinomial logistic regression. Results: A total of 1955 patients were included in the study. The prevalence of good, intermediate and poor BMI control was 38.8% (95% Confident Interval (CI)=36.7, 41.0), 22.2% (95% CI=20.3, 24.0) and 39.0% (95% CI=36.7, 41.2), respectively. Most patients were older Malay women. There was an association between BMI and DM control unadjusted (P<0.001) and adjusted for several confounding factors using seven models (P=0.003–0.034). The R2 value also improved from 0.008 to 0.293. Conclusion: Among patients with T2DM, a higher BMI, the creatinine level and medications such as glucose-lowering drugs, ticlopidine, acetylsalicylic acid and statins are associated with DM control. However, as the study design does not allow for the assessment of causality or progression over time, the findings should be interpreted as descriptive associations rather than as evidence of cause-and effect relationships. Focus on medication compliance, healthcare providers’ role during medication consultation and stakeholders’ role in maintaining drug supplementation is needed.

COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes in daily life. The pandemic has affected all populations in the world and lead to WHO calling for the global action to minimize the spread of this infection. Social distancing, work from home and movement control order are some of the strategies implemented to mitigate this infectious outbreak. Health consequences on non-communicable disease, mental health, social crisis among schoolchildren and burnout among healthcare providers have been affected during the pandemic. This review will provide a brief explanation on these health consequences of COVID-19 to the population. Future strategies that can be implemented during pandemic will also be discussed in the review.

Introduction: Determination of learning needs is central for holistic patient education, to sustain behavior changes and to control patient’s risk factor. However, patients often sense that their learning needs are unmet and information provided was too general. Thus, this study aimed to determine the perceived learning needs and their level of importance among Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) patients. Methods: The current investigation is a descriptive, cross-sectional study for which all CAD patients were selected using the cencus method. The data was collected using Cardiac Patients Learning Needs Inventory. The questionnaire was delivered to 140 CAD patients who had their follow-up in a cardiology clinic. The instrument is reliable with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.96. The study design followed STROBE cross-sectional design process guideline. Results: Participants’ mean age was 58.96 ± 9.42 years. More than half of the participants were males (62.9%), employed (52.0%) and had attained secondary level education (69.3%). Around two-thirds (60.7%) of the patients perceived to have high learning needs. Gender and highest educational achievement were significantly associated with perceived learning needs. The most significant perceived learning needs were medication information, risk factors for CAD, information on diet, physical activity, anatomy and physiology, and other related information. Conclusion: This study has identified the important domains of learning needs among CAD patients. Findings from the present study will provide important input for future cardiac educational strategies to reduce the rate of hospital readmission and death.