Introduction: One factor that contributes to ischemic stroke is obesity. This research aims to show a positive effect between abdominal obesity and BMI in ischemic stroke. Methods: This study used a case control design. The case group was patients who diagnosed ischemic stroke and the control group was patients who diagnosed but not as ischemic stroke (inflammatory disease, epilepsy, movement disorders and peripheral nerve disorders). The number of samples for each group is 44 which was obtained by carrying out the purposive sampling technique. Waist circumference data was obtained from waist circumference measurements using metline, while BMI is obtained by measuring the weight using TANITA brand digital scales and height using microtoise. The statistical tests used were Pearson parametric correlation test and simple logistic regression analysis. Results: There is a significant relationship between abdominal obesity and p value 0.0000 and BMI with p value 0.0260 for ischemic stroke. The probability of abdominal obesity in ischemic stroke was (1.75), and BMI was (0.794). Conclusion: someone who has abdominal obesity was 1.75 times more at risk of having an ischemic stroke, with a probability event of 85%.The best method of identifying the risk of ischemic stroke was to use the measurement of abdominal obesity.

INTRODUCTION: Ingrowing toenail (IGTN) or onychocryptosis is not uncommon in children and adolescents. However, there is a dearth of evidence in the literature on the management of IGTN in this age group. This study aimed to compare the results of nonoperative treatment for IGTN with that of operative treatment among children and adolescents. METHODS: All children and adolescents who were treated for IGTN at our institution between 2010 and 2014 were included for this retrospective study. Demographic data, treatment prescribed and outcome at six months after presentation were analysed. RESULTS: Overall, 199 patients were recruited. There were 123 (61.8%) boys and 76 (38.2%) girls. Median age was 14 years. Among 199 toes, 162 (81.4%) were treated nonoperatively, with nail care advice, topical antibiotics and daily cleansing. Only 37 (18.6%) toes were treated operatively. In the operative group, 23 (62.2%) patients underwent wedge resections, while the remaining 14 (37.8%) had total nail avulsions; for all patients, germinal matrices were preserved. At the six-month follow-up, there were 5 (3.1%) cases of recurrence in the nonoperative group when compared to 3 (8.1%) recurrences in the operative group. CONCLUSION We recommend that IGTN in children and adolescents be treated in the first instance by nonoperative methods. Operative options can be considered for resistant cases or in case of recurrence of IGTN.
Adolescent ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Child ; Female ; Hospitals, Pediatric ; Humans ; Male ; Nails ; Nails, Ingrown ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Singapore ; Toes

Working in prolonged standing position among industrial workers has been shown to be associated with different potentially serious health outcomes, namely lower back pain, leg pain, fatigue, discomfort, and other health issues. Personalisation of insole offers a solution that will provide a perfect fit and comfort to the shoes wearer based on the ergonomic considerations. It works in a way that it alters the pressure away from painful areas by increasing the surface area that supports the weight of the body and evenly distributes it to the whole plantar area. Survey was conducted among workers at a manufacturing industry company to study on the level of pain experienced by them together with their foot anthropometry. Then, the foot pressure of each of the workers was collected by using pressure measurement device (F-scan). Combination of these data was used to design the customized insole that is fit for the worker. The personalised insoles were fabricated by using Additive Manufacturing technology. After that, the insoles were validated by using the F-scan and Electromyogram (EMG) to ensure their effectiveness in reducing pressures on the foot and muscle activity hence improving the comfort of the shoe wearer. At the end of the experiment, it was found that the insole is able to reduce the peak pressure of four out of five areas of the worker’s foot with the reduction of pressure percentage ranging from 6% to 28%.
Personalised insole ; additive manufacturing ; foot pressure ; muscle activity

A cross-sectional study was carried out in July-October 2012 in UKM to remeasure, evaluate and compare the changes in health services utilization level among women staff in UKM with a previous study done in 2001 and its influencing factors. The services studied were blood pressure (BP) measurement and Pap smear test. A total of 234 respondents aged between 18 and 55 were selected using stratified random sampling from Bangi, Kuala Lumpur and UKMMC, Malaysia. Data was collected via self-administered questionnaire and was analyzed by using SPSS version 17.0. Majority 85.9% of the respondents were found to have utilized at least one BP measurement which is higher compared to previous study. The Pap smear test, 64.5% of women have had a Pap smear test done also higher compared to previous study. Multivariate analysis shows the factors associated with BP measurement are age (OR 2.7, CI 95% 1.2, 6.3), family history of general health problems (OR 3.4, CI 95% 1.5, 7.6), and health staff influence (OR 5.2, CI 95% 1.1, 25.5). The factors associated with Pap smear test are marital status (OR 62.8, CI 95% 7.2, 546.4), general health problems (OR 2.3, CI 95% 1.2, 4.5), family planning (OR 6.9, CI 95% 3.0, 16.5) and self-interest (OR 3.3, CI 95%, 1.3, 8.6). The level of health services utilization on BP measurement and Pap smear test in 2012 is higher than 2001. For both BP measurement and Pap smear test the determinant factors are differed in the aforesaid years.

To analyze the ART outcome and factors associated with successful ART treatment for infertile couples in a newly set up medical university IVF centre. Methods: A six-month cohort study of patients undergoing their first assisted reproductive technique cycle was conducted at IIUM fertility centre, Kuantan (from 15th June until 31st Dec 2009). Outcome measures include clinical pregnancy rate, ongoing pregnancy rate, take home baby rate and complications rate. Results: Fifty-five first cycles of IVF/ICSI were studied. Mean embryo per transfer was 2.1±0.8. Four patients were pregnant (23.5%) from a single embryo transfer (SET). Clinical pregnancy rate was 30.9% (17/55). Ongoing pregnancy rate was 23.6% (13/55) and take home baby rate was 21.8% (12/55). There was only one twin pregnancy. Nine patients (16.4%) had OHSS whereby 77.8% were mild and 22.2% were moderate. Conclusion: Take home baby rate at the IIUM fertility centre is comparable to most established ART centres in Malaysia considering that this is only the first year of operation.

Introduction: Meal patterns have received little attention in nutrition studies. The aim of this study is to present the findings on general meal patterns of Malaysian adults. Methods: The Malaysian Adults Nutrition Survey (MANS), carried out in 2002 and 2003, involved 6,928 adults selected by stratified random sampling from all households by zone in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. Results: In general, the results showed that most respondents (74.16%) ate three meals per day; 89.20% of the respondents consumed breakfast, while 88.57% consumed lunch and 91.97% consumed dinner with no significant difference in terms of sex. In Peninsular Malaysia, the Northern Zone had the highest number of people consuming breakfast compared to other zones. Meanwhile, the population in Sarawak had the largest proportion of people consuming lunch and dinner, but the smallest proportion of people consuming breakfast. A significantly higher number of the rural population consumed breakfast and lunch than urbanites; however there was no significant difference in dinner consumption. Generally, breakfast consumption increased with age whereby significant difference existed between the 18 to 19 years age group and the age group of 30 years and older. Lunch intake among the age groups showed no significant difference. In contrast, dinner consumption was significantly lower among the 18 to 19 years age group compared to all other age groups. Comparison among the ethnic groups showed that the Indian population had the lowest percentage of having breakfast and lunch while the Orang Asli had the lowest percentage of consuming dinner. However, the Orang Asli recorded the highest percentage for taking breakfast and lunch while the Chinese had the highest percentage of taking dinner. Conclusion: Considering that Malaysian adults consumed their conventional breakfast, lunch and dinner, these findings indicatethat Malaysians are maintaining their traditional meal patterns.

Introduction: This study was conducted on 215 working women from four private corporate companies in a suburb in Malaysia to determine the factors related to their physical activity levels. Methods: Data were collected using a questionnaire which included socio-demographic characteristics, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), perceived barriers and benefits to physical activity, self-efficacy to physical activity and an 8-item questionnaire on current behavioral stage of physical activity. Results: The majority of the respondents were Malay (81.9%) with 10.2% being Chinese and 7.9% Indian. Most of the respondents were executives (64.2%), while the rest were non-executives (24.7%) and managers (11.2%). The mean weight, height, BMI and waist circumference were 59.4±13.1 kg, 1.6±0.6 m, 23.7±4.8 kg/m² and 77.0±12.1cm respectively. In this sample, 24.7% and 7.9% were overweight and obese respectively, while 34% were at risk of abdominal obesity. A total of 28.8% of the respondents had low physical activity level, while 48.8% and 22.3% were in the moderate and high physical activity categories respectively. An association was found between monthly income (χ2=110.17; p<0.05) and current behavioral stage of physical activity (χ2=27.527; p<0.05) with physical activity, but no relationship was found between job category and physical activity category (χ2=8.940; p>0.05). Physical activity category was also positively correlated with perceived barriers (r=0.227, p<0.05) and benefits to physical activity (r=0.280, p<0.05). However, physical activity was not associated with self-efficacy to physical activity. Conclusion: In this sample of working women, socio-demographic and psychosocial factors (except self-efficacy to physical activity) were found to have an association with physical activity level of the respondents. Further studies should be conducted to confirm these findings in the general working women population.

Introduction: Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is one of the frequent causes of hospitalization in children under the age of five, particularly in a rural setting. This study was conducted to determine the epidemiology of acute gastroenteritis in indigenous children admitted to a rural district hospital in Sarawak. Methods: A retrospective review of indigenous paediatrics cases of acute gastroenteritis admitted to the ward of Serian District Hospital, a rural district hospital in Sarawak, between the years 2006-2007. The data was collected from the patients’ case notes, obtained with permission from the hospital management. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16. Results: During the study period, 234 indigenous children with acute gastroenteritis were admitted with the highest prevalence in 2006 (53.4%). The findings showed higher prevalence was found in children aged 3 years and below (76.5%) and male (56.4%) The minimum duration of hospital stay is 1 day, and the maximum stay is 5 days. The clinical findings showed that the majority of the cases presented with vomiting, diarrhea, dry mouth and tongue, sunken eye, with the majority (76%) reported having mild dehydration. The most common treatment used is oral rehydration solutions (85.4%), followed by intravenous bolus or drip (82.3%), paracetamol (79%) and antibiotic (36.2%). Peak incidence of admissions was between November to January. About 38.5% of the AGE cases admitted were found to be underweight (weightfor- age below -2SD). Conclusion: The findings indicated children aged 3 years and below are the most vulnerable to AGE and malnutrition could be one of the predisposing factors. The peak incidence during the raining season at the end of the year indicated a possible relationship between AGE and seasonal type of virus infection. Prevention in the form of proper hygiene at the household level probably will prove to be useful.

This paper aims to report the physical activity pattern and energy expenditure of adults aged 18 – 59 years in the Malaysian Adults Nutrition Survey (MANS) carried out between October 2002 and December 2003. The survey included 7349 adults representative of Peninsular Malaysia (Northern, Southern, Central and East Coast), as well as Sabah and Sarawak. A total of 6926 adults, comprising 3343 men and 3583 women, completed the physical activity section of the survey. Physical activity data was obtained using a physical activity questionnaire and 24-hour physical activity recall. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) was calculated from Ismail et al. (1998) predictive equations; total energy expenditure (TEE) was then estimated through factorial calculations based on time allocated and energy cost of various activities. Physical activity level (PAL) was calculated as the ratio of TEE to BMR. It was found that almost three-quarters of Malaysian adults travelled by passive modes of transportation. Only a third reported having ever-exercised, and an even smaller proportion of the population (14%) had adequate exercise. The population also spent the majority of their time (74% of the day) in sedentary activities, such as sleeping or lying down; doing light intensity activities (15% of the day), and doing moderate to vigorous intensity activities (10% of the day). Mean BMR and TEE was significantly higher amongst men than women, while mean PAL values were similar for men [1.6 (1.6 – 1.7)] and women [1.6 (1.6 – 1.6)]. More men (16%) were categorised as having active PAL compared to women (10%), while more women (43%) were categorised as having sedentary PAL compared to their male counterparts (37%). The present study provides the first in-depth report of the physical activity pattern, and national estimates of energy expenditure and physical activity levels of Malaysian adults, and concluded that Malaysian adults are generally sedentary. It is thus important that physical activity be further promoted and integrated into the lives of the population, preferably through various health promotion efforts as well as through the commitment of the authorities in providing a suitable environment for an active lifestyle.

AIM:To determine the rate of bacterial colonization in hydrogel disposable contact lenses and solutions and to identify the contaminating organisms.METHODS:A cross sectional study with purposive sampling was carried out.One hundred hydrogel contact lenses were collected from wearers among undergraduate students of Health Campus,University Sains Malaysia.All lenses and storage solutions were sent for microbiological culture and gram staining.RESULTS:The majority of study participants were females(98%).The mean age was 21.36±1.63 years.Forty-one subject participants(82%)showed positive bacterial colonization of the lenses.From storage solutions 32% yielded positive colonization by bacteria.The most common organisms were coagulase negative staphyJococcus,Staph aureus and streptococci while Pseudomonas sp.and Serratia sp.were isolated more frequently from contact lenses.CONCLUSION:Contact lens wearing is potentially dangerous as a result of high rate of bacterial colonization of the lenses and its storage solutions.Extreme precaution and adherence to strict hygienic practice is recommended during lens handling and wearing.