ABSTRACT
@#In Malaysia, drug addiction has been a big threat since 1983.As of by latest statistic by National Anti-Drug Agency in 2016, the number of drug abusers in Malaysia was 30846.Acknowledging the importance of drug abuse and relapse as a public health issue, Malaysian government had implemented Harm Reduction Programme .Under this programme, Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) was launched in Oct 2005. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of MMT programme among opiate dependent individuals in their daily life. In this study, 100 individuals from the Ministry of Health (MoH), Klinik Kesihatan Bayan Lepas (Bayan Lepas Health Clinic) and Agensi Anti-Dadah Kebangsaan (National Anti-Drug Agency) in Telok Bahang were involved. The subjects were interviewed with WHOQOL BREF questionnaires before joining the MMT programme and also after minimum 4 months of joining MMT. Results obtained were used for comparing life style implications among methadone patients before and after joining the MMT programme. Subjects were predominantly of Malay ethnicity (82%). Subjects were mostly aged between 51 to 60 years old (34%). Paired t-test was done on the WHOQOL scores at baseline (before MMT) and after minimum of 4 months enrolment for all four domains. Each domain showed significant improvement in QOL (P<0.05).The highest improvement was shown in the psychology domain with the mean value increment of 15.13±17.49. Physical domain showed the least improvement with the mean value of 9.39±16.21.This study has proven that MMT have highly contributed to improvement of quality of life among MMT clients in Klinik Kesihatan Bayan Lepas and AADK Telok Bahang.
ABSTRACT
This study examined the effect of 12-week intensive dietary and exercise intervention program on body composition and stress-related hormones in obese women and to examine the residual effect after the intervention. The participants of this study were 30 obese women who had a body mass index of over 25 kg/m² and over 30% in body fat. They were classified into 2 groups depending on the history of weight cycling (WC); the WC group (≥±5% of the original body weight) and the non-weight cycling (NWC) group. Both groups were subject to a nutritional intervention program every 2 weeks with a mandatory exercise intervention for 12 weeks. Thereafter, the nutrition/exercise interventions were ceased for 12 weeks, after which the participants' levels of the hormones relating to energy metabolism and stress, meal intakes, dietary habits, level of knowledge on sodium intake, frequency of sodium intake, and quality of life (QOL) were checked. The changes of body weight were 71.3 ± 5.5 kg (week 0) vs. 65.0 ± 6.6 kg (week 12) vs. 65.6 ± 7.1 kg (week 24) in WC group and 71.6 ± 8.6 kg (week 0) vs. 68.8 ± 9.7 kg (week 12) vs. 70.3 ± 9.4 kg (week 24) in the NWC group. The levels of hormones, meal intakes, and QOL scores were better in the WC group, as adherence to the nutritional intervention was higher. We suggest that that adherence to dietary habits heavily influences weight loss and maintenance in individuals who frequently attempt to lose weight and consequently go through a vicious cycle of weight recycling.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Adipose Tissue , Body Composition , Body Mass Index , Body Weight , Energy Metabolism , Feeding Behavior , Meals , Obesity , Quality of Life , Recycling , Sodium , Weight LossABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To confirm the effect of tailored life style improvement program, provided by occupational health nurse for hypertensive workers on their blood pressure, self-efficacy, and life style changes in workplace. METHOD: The experimental and control group of thirty subjects each were randomly assigned for those who agreed to participate in the study among the pre-hypertensive workers. The tailored life style improvement program was provided to the experimental group and conducted once a week for 8 weeks. This program was composed of exercise and low salt diet to control high blood pressure and weight, and the measurement of carbon monoxide for non-smoking inducement. RESULT: In the experimental group, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased while self-efficacy increased after the program compared to the control group. Smoking and drinking habits of the experimental group were significantly decreased whereas exercise and nutritional habits were significantly improved compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: The tailored life style improvement program provided by occupational health nurses for the hypertensive workers was positively affected on their blood pressure, self-efficacy and life style changes in workplace.