PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS OF PRETERM BIRTH AMONG PREGNANT ADOLESCENTS IN KUALA LUMPUR: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY Introduction: Adolescent pregnancies are often associated with a higher risk of adverse outcomes, including preterm birth, which may lead to severe physiological and psychological health impacts on both mothers and children. Despite the acknowledged risks, there is a knowledge gap regarding the risk factors of preterm birth among pregnant adolescents. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated sociodemographic, maternal, intrapartum and neonatal factors of preterm birth among pregnant adolescents in Kuala Lumpur. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from March to June 2024. Samples were selected using simple random sampling from the Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Department of Health pregnant adolescents’ line listing from 2019 to 2023. Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to determine the factors associated with preterm birth. Results: A total of 175 pregnant adolescents were included in the study. The prevalence of preterm birth was 16%. Anaemia at booking (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 7.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.53, 23.997), history of preterm birth (aOR: 11.654; 95% CI: 1.517, 89.498), history of smoking (aOR: 6.89; 95% CI: 1.397, 34.002) and low birth weight (aOR: 12.503; 95% CI: 3.858, 40.522) were significantly associated with preterm birth. Conclusion: Targeted interventions to address anaemia, history of smoking, previous history of preterm births and low birth weight babies in adolescent pregnancies are crucial to reduce the incidence of preterm birth and improve maternal and infant health outcomes in this population among adolescents.

Introduction: Caring for gastrointestinal cancer patients can be demanding and to some, caregivers, burdensome; resulting in them having low quality of life (QOL) and thus they may become the next potential patients. Hence, true heartfelt experiences need to be captured to highlight issues and preventive measures that are not voiced out as most often caregiving is done in silence and out of responsibility. Therefore, this study aimed to explore on the caregivers’ insights on how caregiving experience has resulted in their low QOL. Methods: Seven family caregivers were purposively selected from two oncology centres in the Klang Valley, Malaysia for this qualitative case study. The selection was based on the low scores obtained from Malay Caregiver Quality of Life Cancer (MCQOL) questionnaire during an initial cross-sectional study. Following that, in-depth interviews were performed on those selected caregivers. Interview data were triangulated with the questionnaire and observations for validity. Member and expert checking were conducted to ensure credibility and trustworthiness. A thematic content analysis was later performed. Results: Thematic analysis revealed four distinct contributors to the caregivers’ QOL; namely, patients’ financial and stress management; impact towards physical, psychological, social (including relationship) wellbeing, communication; and support from families, organisation and community. Conclusion: The qualitative study discovered evidence for collaborative support needed to ensure better QOL for the caregivers.

Pregnant adolescents have been shown to have a higher incidence of health and non-health-related complications that affect both mothers and infants. These include increased risk of pregnancy-related diseases such as anemia and pre-eclampsia, preterm and low-birth-weight babies, as well as other social consequences such as educational and financial difficulties. This mini review evaluates selected articles which explain the attitudes, knowledge, behavior and other risk factors associated with pregnancy among adolescents in developing countries. It also revealed that inadequate knowledge among adolescents about reproductive and sexual health, other social, cultural and peer influences, parenting values, and poor financial and educational status were factors that contribute to adolescent pregnancy. Likewise, a lack of support from parents, educators and healthcare workers had negative impacts on healthy sexual behavior among adolescents, which may ultimately lead to adolescent pregnancy. We conclude that the factors discussed in this review need to be evaluated and taken into consideration by policymakers and healthcare workers when formulating strategies to prevent pregnancies among adolescents.