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@#Introduction: Small for gestational age (SGA) infants have been linked to poor growth trends and nutritional status. SGA infants that do not reach their full growth potential must be supervised by a multidisciplinary medical team. Parents devote more time, energy, and money for raising of the SGA infants. The objective of this present study is to explore the perceptions and the experiences of the mother in nurturing the small for gestational age infants in their first year of life. Method: A qualitative exploratory descriptive study via in-depth interview was conducted in the primary health clinics in urban areas in Malaysia to explore the mothers’ perceptions and experiences in SGA infant’s care. 13 SGA infant’s mothers participated in the study after the children achieved the age of one year old. Thematic analysis was conducted using software ATLAS.ti version 8. Results: The average mothers’ age in this study were 33 years old, majority was Malay ethnicity. Only one mother was a housewife and others were working mother. Four out of 13 SGA infants were born prematurely. This study found that homogenous experiences throughout the pregnancy and baby nurturing phase, perceptions on husband involvement and external supports in infant care, infant health status and health services provided, were highlighted as important contributor to infant survival. Conclusion: The importance of monitoring SGA infant growth and nutritional status have been highlighted. Maternal psychological support needs to be enhanced to ease the burden in SGA infant care. Targeted program intervention for family and community social support during postnatal and empowering mothers in nurturing their infants are crucial.
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Purpose@#This study aimed to identify small for gestational age (SGA) infants' growth patterns, nutritional status, and associated factors. @*Methods@#This prospective cohort study was conducted at primary-care child health clinics in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The sample consisted of infants who fulfilled the criteria and were born in 2019. The anthropometric data of infants were assessed at birth and at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. @*Results@#A total of 328 infants were analysed. In total, 27.7%(n=91) of the subjects were SGA infants, and 237 of them were not. Significant differences in the median weight-for-age and length-for-age z-scores were observed between SGA and non-SGA infants at birth, 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months. There was a significant difference between the growth patterns of SGA and non-SGA infants. Birth weight and sex significantly predicted the nutritional status(stunting and underweight) of SGA infants during their first year of life. @*Conclusion@#SGA infants can catch up to achieve normal growth during their first year of life. Even though the nutritional status of SGA infants trends worse than non-SGA infants, adequate infant birth weight monitoring and an emphasis on nutritional advice are crucial for maintaining well-being.
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@#Introduction: Lower limb cellulitis is a common superficial skin infection that leads to morbidity and mortality. Cellulitis risk factors have been well studied in many countries, but to date, not in Malaysia. Geographical and climate variables may affect risk factors. Early identification of the preventable risk factors is vital to prevent cellulitis and improve holistic patient care. Objective: To determine the risk factors of lower limb cellulitis amongst hospitalized patients at a tertiary center. Methods: A prospective case-control study of hospitalized patients with a clinical diagnosis of lower limb cellulitis was conducted at UKM Medical Centre, January–August 2015. Each patient was compared to two age and gender-matched control patients. All patients were interviewed and examined for risk factors of cellulitis. Results: A total of 96 cellulitis patients and 192 controls participated in this study. The cellulitis patients included 61 males and 35 females with a mean age of 62.07±15.43 years. The majority of patients were experiencing their first episode of cellulitis. Multivariate analysis showed a previous history of cellulitis (OR 25.53; 95% CI 4.73–137.79), sole anomalies (OR 16.32; 95% CI 6.65–40.06), ulceration (OR 14.86; 95% CI 1.00–219.39), venous insufficiency (OR 10.46 95% CI 1.98–55.22), interdigital intertrigo (OR 8.86; 95% CI 3.33-23.56), eczema (OR 5.74; 95% CI 0.96.–34.21), and limb edema (OR 3.95; 95% CI 1.82–8.59) were the significant risk factors for lower limb cellulitis. Conclusion: Previous cellulitis and factors causing skin barrier disruption such as sole anomalies, ulceration, venous insufficiency, eczema, intertrigo, and limb edema were the risk factors for lower limb cellulitis. Physician awareness, early detection, and treatment of these factors at the primary care level may prevent hospital admission and morbidity associated with cellulitis.
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The most effective and affordable public health strategy to prevent hypertension, stroke and renal disease is by reducing daily salt consumption. Therefore, this study aims to determine the association of knowledge, attitude and practice on salt diet intake and to identify foods contributing to high sodium intake. Secondary data analysis was performed on MySalt 2016 data. It was conducted from November 2015 until January 2016 which involving Ministry of Health Staff worked at 16 study sites in Malaysia. Salt intake was measured using 24 hours urinary sodium excretion. Food frequency questionnaire was used to determine the sodium sources. Knowledge, attitude and practice of salt intake were assessed using a validated questionnaire adapted from WHO. Demographic data and anthropometric measures also were collected. Sodium levels of more than 2400mg/day was categorised as high sodium intake. Data were analysed using SPSS software version 21. The mean sodium intake estimated by 24 hours urinary sodium excretion was 2853.23 + 1275.8 mg/day. Food groups namely rice/noodles (33.8%), sauces/seasoning (20.6%), meat and poultry (12.6%) and fish/seafoods (9.3%) were the major contributors of dietary sodium. In multiple logistic regression analysis, being a male (aOR=2.83, 95% CI 2.02 – 3.96) and obese (aOR=6.78, 95% CI 1.98 – 23.18) were significantly associated with high urinary sodium excretions. In addition, those who were unsure that high salt intake can cause hypertension (aOR=1.24, 95% CI 0.65 – 2.36), those who think that they consumed too much salt (aOR=2.10, 95% CI 1.13 – 3.87) and those who only use salt rather than other spices for cooking (aOR=2.07, 95% CI 1.29 – 3.30) were significantly associated with high urinary sodium excretion. This study showed that the main sources of sodium among Malay healthcare staff is cooked food. Poor knowledge and practice towards reducing salt consumption among them contributes to the high sodium consumption. The practice of healthy eating among them together with continuous awareness campaign is essential in order to educate them to minimize sodium consumption and to practice healthy eating.
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SUMMARY Introduction: This study aims for construct validation using two approaches, i.e., exploratory factor analysis and Rasch Model. Methods: A cross sectional of 313 male workers from multiple worksites had completed self-administered Malay translated version of Three-Factor Eating QuestionnaireR21. Data quality was assessed by misfit person criteria, dimensionality, summary statistic, item measure and rating (partial credit) scale followed by exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency reliability assessment. Results: The dual approaches of construct validation analysis were complement to each other. Rasch analysis supported the theoretical constructs of three eating behaviour dimensions among respondents. In contrary to exploratory factor analysis, it did show presence of a newfound factor (α=0.04) came up from the separation of the cognitive restrain and uncontrolled eating however, the correlation between the two respective sub-factors were fair (r=0.39) and weak (r= -0.08). Both analyses had detected three problematic items but those items were psychometrically fit for used for current study setting. The data had adequate psychometric properties. Cronbach’s alpha for cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating were 0.66, 0.79 and 0.87 respectively. Rating scale quality was conformed to standard criteria. Conclusion: Malay version TFEQ-R21 with promising psychometric properties and valid measures for eating behaviour dimensions among male workers aged between 20 to 60 years old is now available. Further development should focus on the items in relation to Malaysian cultural adaptation before its use for daily practice in future setting.