The association of shift work and hypertension among male factory workers in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.

Shift work associated with various health problems and there is concern that shift workers are at higher risk to develop hypertension. A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2003 to May 2004 to compare the prevalence of hypertension and to examine the relationship between shift work and hypertension among 148 randomly selected male workers from one of the factories in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Information on psychosocial and life-style factors, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, and fasting blood sugar and lipid profiles analyses were obtained. The prevalence of hypertension was significantly higher among shift workers (22.4%) compared to day workers (4.2%), with p-value of 0.001. Shift work was significantly associated with hypertension (adjusted odds ratio 9.1; 95% CI 1.4-56.7).

Prevalence of overweight and self-reported chronic diseases among residents in Pulau Kundur, Kelantan, Malaysia.

This cross-sectional study was designed to determine the socio-demographic characteristics and prevalence of overweight/obesity and self-reported diabetes mellitus, hypertension and heart disease among the population in Pulau Kundur, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. This study was conducted in September 2005. We randomly selected 120 of 240 households in Pulau Kundur, Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Fifteen interviewers were trained to use a structured questionnaire to interview 348 adult respondents age 18 years and older in the selected houses. The mean age was 40.7 years; 52.7% were females and 99.4% were Malay. Sixty-two point seven percent were married and 50.9% of them had Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) or less education. The mean head of family income was RM 532.4. The mean body mass index was 25.3. The overall prevalence of overweight/obesity, known hypertension, diabetes mellitus and heart disease were 49.1, 12.6, 7.8 and 2.0% respectively. Adults in this village had a high prevalence of overweight and obesity and self-reported chronic diseases. Health education and lifestyle modification are needed for those adults.