Heavy metal contamination in Sungai Petani, Malaysia: a wastewater-based epidemiology study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to estimate heavy metal exposure in Sungai Petani, Malaysia. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to detect copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and cadmium (Cd) in wastewater from eight sewage treatment facilities in Sungai Petani in January 2022. The heavy metal concentrations were measured in both influent and effluent, and the mean concentrations in the wastewater were found to be in the following order: Fe > Ni > Zn > Cd > Cu, with a 100% detection frequency. The results of WBE estimation showed that Fe, Ni, and Zn had the highest estimated per population exposure levels, while Cd had the lowest. Compared to a similar study conducted in Penang, Malaysia, all metals except Cu were found to have higher concentrations in Sungai Petani, even though it is a non-industrial district. These findings highlight the importance of addressing heavy metal contamination in Sungai Petani and implementing effective risk management and prevention strategies.

Barrier to contraceptive use among childbearing age women in rural Indonesia.

INTRODUCTION: The contraceptive prevalence rate in Indonesia has not experienced much improvement, which has led to an increase in the number of pregnancies. This study aimed to analyse the barriers to contraception use among women of childbearing age in rural Indonesia. METHODS: This study used a cross-sectional design with data from the Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) of 2017. The independent variables were age, employment status, education, marital status, wealth status, health insurance and parity. The dependent variable was the use of contraception. The statistical significance was set at p <0.05 using bivariate analysis and binary logistic regression. RESULTS: The study showed that the age group of 45-49 years (OR 0.199; 95% CI 0.149-0.266), secondary education (OR 2.227; 95% CI 2.060-2.514), women married/living with their partner (OR 43.752; 95% CI: 35.484-53.946), wealth status: middle (OR 1.492; 95% CI 1.400-1.589) and multipara (OR 2.524; 95% CI: 2.328-2.737) exhibited the increased use of contraception among women of childbearing age in rural Indonesia. CONCLUSION: The variables proven to represent obstacles to contraceptive use among women of childbearing age in rural Indonesia include old age, no education, no husband/partner, poverty and already having one child.