Introduction: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a common complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), with nerve conduction studies recognized as the diagnostic gold standard. Serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) has been linked with DPN. This study aims to determine the prevalence of DPN among T2DM patients, evaluate clinical characteristics, and explore the relationship between NSE and DPN. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Universiti Teknologi MARA Specialist Centre Sungai Buloh and Hospital Al-Sultan Abdullah, involving patients aged 18–60 years, diagnosed with T2DM for more than 5 years (n = 132). All participants underwent anthropometric measurement, completed the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument evaluation, and biochemical parameters, including lipid profile, hemoglobin A1c, and serum creatine and NSE. The diagnosis of DPN was made based on positive NCS findings. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with DPN. Results: The study population had a mean age of 60.16 ± 10.28 years and a mean duration of diabetes of 14.82 ± 6.66 years. The prevalence of DPN was 51.5% (n = 68). Serum NSE levels were significantly higher (p = 0.003) and independently associated with the presence of DPN (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.033, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.009–1.058, p = 0.006). Participants with DPN were also more likely to be on insulin therapy (p = 0.040). In addition, retinopathy (adjusted OR 3.567, 95% CI 1.528–8.329, p = 0.013) and elevated Urine Albumin-to-Creatinine Ratio levels indicating albuminuria (adjusted OR 1.031, 95% CI 1.002– 1.061, p = 0.037) were significantly associated with DPN. Conclusion More than half of the study population had DPN, which was significantly associated with both retinopathy and nephropathy, as well as with elevated serum NSE. This emphasizes the importance of early screening and highlights the role of NSE as a surrogate marker for neuropathy in diabetes.
Humans ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Diabetic Neuropathies ; Prevalence ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase

Introduction: Maternal obesity presents significant health risks to mothers and their fetuses. This study aimed to determine the proportion, associated factors and outcomes of maternal obesity among pregnant women in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2018 and March 2018 using secondary data from the Malaysian National Obstetric Registry (NOR) for the year 2015. All pregnant women with first-trimester booking at 12 weeks and below that were registered with the NOR and met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis were used. Data were analysed using SPSS version 22.0. A total of 2113 respondents were included in this study to determine the proportion, associated factors and outcomes of maternal obesity. Regarding the univariate and multivariate analyses, respondents were classified into two groups: normal and obese. The obese group comprised overweight and obese mothers. The underweight group was excluded in the subsequent analysis. Results: Out of the 2113 respondents, 7.1% were underweight, 41.7% were of normal weight, 28.6% were overweight, 15.9% were in obese class I, 4.6% were in obese class II, and 2.1% were in obese class III according to the WHO (1995) reference. However, when the MOH (2003) cutoff point was used, there was a marked increase in the proportion of respondents in the overweight categories by 2.7% and obesity class I by 12.8%. The Indian (AdjOR 2.06, 95% CI: 1.11, 3.83, p=0.021) and Malay (AdjOR 1.75, 95% CI: 1.02, 3.00, p=0.040) ethnicities, as well as both multiparity (AdjOR 1.46, 95% CI: 1.23, 1.73, p <0.001) and grand multiparity (AdjOR 2.41, 95% CI: 1.78, 3.26, p <0.001), were significantly associated with maternal obesity. There were significant association between maternal obesity with hypertensive disorder in pregnancy (p=0.025), caesarean section delivery (p=0.002) and macrosomic infant (p <0.001). Conclusion: The identification of risk factors for maternal obesity is important to facilitate intervention programmes focused on improving the pregnancy outcomes for a high-risk group of women.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged standing has been hypothesized as a vital contributor to discomfort and muscle fatigue in the workplace. The objective of this study was to develop a decision support system that could provide systematic analysis and solutions to minimize the discomfort and muscle fatigue associated with prolonged standing. METHODS: The integration of object-oriented programming and a Model Oriented Simultaneous Engineering System were used to design the architecture of the decision support system. RESULTS: Validation of the decision support system was carried out in two manufacturing companies. The validation process showed that the decision support system produced reliable results. CONCLUSION: The decision support system is a reliable advisory tool for providing analysis and solutions to problems related to the discomfort and muscle fatigue associated with prolonged standing. Further testing of the decision support system is suggested before it is used commercially.
Fatigue ; Human Engineering ; Muscle Fatigue

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between household food insecurity and nutritional status of children in low-income households. A cross sectional study involved a survey of households (n = 223) receiving the financial assistance. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Eligible mothers that fulfilled the inclusion criteria such as non-pregnant, non-lactating mothers, aged 18 to 55 years with their youngest children aged 2 to 12 years, were purposively selected. The Radimer/Cornell hunger and food-insecurity instrument was administered and children's height and weight were measured. RESULTS: About 16.1% of the households were food secure, while 83.9% experienced some kind of food insecurity. Out of food insecure category, 29.6% households were food insecure, 19.3% women were individual food insecure and 35.0% fell into the child hunger category. Education of the mother (P = 0.047), household size (P = 0.024), number of children (P = 0.024), number of children going to school (P = 0.048), total monthly income (P < 0.001), income per capital (P < 0.001), number of household members contributing to the income (P = 0.018) and food expenditure (P = 0.006) were significant risk factors for household food insecurity. The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting in children were 61.0%, 61.4% and 30.6% respectively. Based on multinomial logistic regression, children in food-insecure households were 2.15 times more likely to be underweight and three times to be stunted than children in the food-secure households. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that household food insecurity is associated with the nutritional status of the children in the rural area of Northeastern Peninsular Malaysia.
Child* ; Education ; Family Characteristics* ; Female ; Food Supply* ; Health Expenditures ; Humans ; Hunger ; Logistic Models ; Malaysia* ; Mothers ; Nutritional Status ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Thinness