A Cross-sectional Study of Ovarian Cancer Knowledge and Its Determinants among Female Employees in a Public University, Malaysia

Introduction: Ovarian cancer is recognizable as the fourth leading cancer in Malaysia. Knowledge on ovarian cancer is low among Malaysian women, which may affect their interpretation of early symptoms and delay presentation of ovarian cancer cases. The aim of this study was to determine the level of ovarian cancer knowledge and its determinants among female nonacademic staff in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia. Methods: Across- sectional study was designed to collect the data from 366 participants via a validated self-administered questionnaire, from April to July 2015. Results: The mean age of participants was 34 ± 7.89. Most of the sample was Malay (96.4%), married (61.5%). A total of 51.4% of respondents reported low knowledge level. Knowledge of ovarian cancer was significantly associated with marital status (p<0.001), age (p=0.03), interest to know about ovarian cancer (p<0.001) and level of education (p= 0.02) . Participant’ age and having heard or read about ovarian cancer were predictors to low knowledge, with the odds ratios of (OR=1.031, 95% CI= 1.002-1.061, P=0.03) and (OR=0.549, 95% CI= 0.356-0.846, P < 0.00) respectively. Conclusion: Our findings showed that more than half of female nonacademic staff in UPM was not well knowledgeable about ovarian cancer, which needs an educational intervention to improve knowledge among this group.

Predictor of cardiovascular risks in end stage renal failure patients on maintenance dialysis

Objective: Cardiovascular disease [CVD] is the main cause of morbidity and premature mortality in end stage renal failure patients [ESRD] receiving dialysis. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of various risk factors in this group of high CVD risk patients in local population

Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional retrospective study in a single hospital. A total of 136 ESRF patients, consisted of 43 haemodialysis [HD] and 93 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis [CAPD] patients, were recruited and followed up for 36 months duration. Midweek clinical and laboratory data were collected. The occurrence of existing and new CVD events was recorded

Results: Multiple Logistic Regression showed pre-existing cardiovascular event [odds ratio, 4.124, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.990 to 17.187], elevated total cholesterol level [odds ratio, 0.550, 95% CI, 0.315 to 0.963], elevated serum phosphate level [odds ratio, 5.862, 95% CI, 1.041 to 33.024] and elevated random blood glucose level [odds ratio, 1.193, 95% CI, 1.012 to 1.406] were significantly associated with occurrence of CVD events

Conclusions: History of cardiovascular event before the initiation of dialysis, elevated level of serum phosphate and random blood glucose levels are the risk factors of CVD whereas paradoxically a high total cholesterol level has CVD protective effect towards the ESRF patients

Expectant Management of Missed Miscarriage

Early pregnancy losses occur in 10-20% of all pregnancies. Surgical evacuation has always been the mainstay of management of miscarriages. The main aim of this study was to understand the success rate of expectant management of miscarriage with regards to gestational sac size and period of gestation. The secondary outcome was to measure the satisfaction level and the rate of pregnancy after 6 month of expectant management. Patients diagnosed with missed miscarriages were requested to choose between expectant or surgical management. Those decided for expectant management on “wait and watch” approach were assessed weekly up to 5 completed weeks until complete miscarriage was achieved spontaneously. Surgical evacuation was performed if medically indicated or requested by the patients at any time or at the end of fifth week if complete miscarriage was not achieved. Out of 212 cases, 75 (35.4%) opted for expectant management. Complete miscarriage was achieved in 85.3% of subjects by the end of fifth weeks respectively. Mean of Gestational sac size and period of gestation was not found to influence the success rate of complete spontaneous miscarriage in the expectant management. No morbidity was recorded during the five weeks of the study period. Mean satisfaction score was 9.7±8.3. Pregnancy occurred in 47% of patients within 6 months follow up. The Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curve analysis suggested the end of second week as the cut off for surgical intervention. This study revealed that expectant management of missed miscarriage is a reliable management of missed miscarriage within the first two weeks.

Determinants of Nutritional Status in Children living in Mashhad, Iran

Children are one of the most vulnerable groups to sub-optimal nutritional intake in most societies. We have investigated some of the potential determinants of malnutrition in children of 2-5 years of age. A cross sectional study was conducted to determine the relationship between nutritional status [weight for age, height for age and weight for height] and dietary and socioeconomic factors in 671 children [24-59 months of age] from selected health centers in Mashhad city, Iran. Children were assessed for weight and height and the care givers were interviewed and a questionnaire was completed by the interviewers. The data were analyzed using SPSS13 software and the Z-scores were calculated using the WHO anthropometric software package. The study showed that 24.4% of children were mildly underweight, 4.3% were underweight, 13% were mildly stunted, 23.6% of children were mildly wasted and 3.1% were stunted. Educational attainment, whether the children had been breast feed, average daily consumption of milk, feeding practices and type of first food were found to be the main factors determining nutritional status in our study. A higher daily consumption of milk, lower age at which first solid food was started; lower age for consumption of meat and good feeding practices may resolve malnutrition in this population. These findings support the need for a family-based prevention program that focus on guiding parents to foster appropriate feeding practices as well as to promote healthy food intake in the children. Future research should determine the cost-effectiveness of both short- and long-term interventions for child malnutrition

effect of mother's hypertension and weight and parent's smoking habit on low birth weight deliveries in hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Maternal factors such as age, health, diet, and environment are significantly associated with low birth weight. The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence, distribution and major risk factors of low birth weight in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. A hospital based case-control study was done in Obstetric Ward of Maternity Hospital in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Data was obtained using questionnaire and Performa. Out of 1021 deliveries, 330 were selected randomly as respondents that comprises of 110 cases and 220 controls. The outcome measure was low birth weight [<2500 grams]. The incidence of low birth weight was 10.8%. Among races, the highest occurrence of low birth weight was in Malay, while the highest age group was between 21 years old to 34 years old with majority of the respondent were married. Among the maternal socio-demographic factors, maternal height of less than 150 cm has a significant relationship with low birth weight. In addition, maternal weight of 45 kg and less and maternal weight gain during pregnancy of less than 10 kg were also found to be risk factors. However, none of the socio-demographic factors were significantly associated with low birth weight deliveries. Similarly, signs of premature delivery, maternal vaginal bleeding and fetal growth retardation [IUGR] had a significant association. The mothers that have experienced any of the risks that were identified should be monitored and effective prevention should be taken to decrease the chances of low birth weight but not forgetting to promote a health lifestyle to the mother and father as well

Inhabitation effect of linoleic acid, the ingredient of nigella sativa [black seed] on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast cancer cells

The objective of this study was to investigate inhibition and anti-cancer effects of Linoleic acid on the MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. Cell lines Human breast cancer MCF-7 [GDC055] and MDA-MB-231 [HTB-26] cell lines were obtained from ATCC. MCF-7 estrogen receptor positive human breast cancer cell line and the estrogen receptor negative human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231, were grown in DMEM. MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast cancer cell lines were observed. For each experiment, seven doses were considered diluting from the highest to the lowest doses by half, respectively. MTS apoptosis and cytotoxic activity assay were used in order to find toxic effects, and the results were supported by flow cytometry [Cell cycle analysis]. The results showed the cytotoxic effect of Linoleic acid on the breast cancer cell lines that can be posed as an anti-cancer effect of lionleic acid. According to our findings, when the concentration of lionleic acid was increased, compared with the concentrations currently being reported, it shows anti-cancer effects. It was concluded that Linoleic acid has an inhibiting effect on human breast cancer cell lines which can be due to its two double-bandings molecular structure