Purpose in Life and Cognitive Function in the Malaysian Ageing and Retirement Study.

OBJECTIVES: Evidence for the association between purpose in life and cognitive health is primarily from North American and European samples. This study evaluates this association in a large sample from Malaysia, an upper-middle-income country in Southeast Asia. METHODS: Participants (N = 5,579) from the Malaysian Ageing and Retirement Study reported on their purpose in life and subjective memory and were administered tasks that measured episodic memory, verbal fluency, and overall cognitive function. RESULTS: Purpose was associated with better subjective memory (ß=.13), episodic memory (ß=.06), verbal fluency (ß=.12), and overall cognitive function (ß=.07) (ps < .001). The associations were similar across sex and retirement status; purpose was more strongly related to subjective memory and overall cognitive function among older participants. Behavioral/social factors accounted for up to one-third of the associations, but all associations remained statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The positive association between purpose and cognition generalizes to a middle-income country in Southeast Asia. Similar to Western samples, behavioral and social factors accounted for part but not all the association. More research is needed in lower- and other middle-income countries to fully evaluate generalizability. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Purpose may help support healthier cognitive aging across diverse populations and be a useful target to improve cognitive aging outcomes.

Factors Influencing Mental Well-being Among Older Malaysians.

Older adults are at greater risk of mental health issues. This study examined the factors influencing mental well-being among 2230 Malaysian older adults, using data from the 2018 to 2019 Malaysia Ageing and Retirement Survey. The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) was used to assess mental well-being, and linear regression analysis identified the significant factors. Women had lower mental well-being scores than men (P = .012, ß = -0.016). Chinese (P = .024, ß = -0.020), Indian (P < .001, ß = -0.043), and other ethnicities (P < .001, ß = -0.031) reported lower scores than Malays. The factors associated with better well-being were secondary (P = .001, ß = 0.032) and tertiary education (P < .001, ß = 0.063), and good (P < .001, ß = 0.081) and moderate (P < .001, ß = 0.038) health status. Diseases-limiting activities were associated with poor well-being (P < .001, ß = -0.030). Support from family (P < .001, ß = 0.062) and friends (P < .001, ß = 0.032), social activity participation (P < .001, ß = 0.026), and functional ability (P < .001, ß = 0.043) were significant positive factors. There is a need for targeted interventions to enhance mental health among Malaysian older adults.

Measures of ability to learn, grow and make decisions among older persons: a systematic review of measurement properties.

OBJECTIVE: this study aims to conduct a systematic review on available instruments for measuring older persons' ability to learn, grow and make decisions and to critically review the measurement properties of the identified instruments. METHODS: we searched six electronic databases, which include PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, SciELO, ERIC and AgeLine, between January 2000 and April 2022. Reference lists of the included papers were also manually searched. The COSMIN (CONsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments) guidelines were used to evaluate the measurement properties and the quality of evidence for each instrument. RESULTS: 13 instruments from 29 studies were included for evaluation of their measurement properties. Of the 13 reviewed, 6 were on the ability to learn, 3 were on the ability to grow and 4 were on the ability to make decisions. The review found no single instrument that measured all three constructs in unidimensional or multidimensional scales. Many of the instruments were found to have sufficient overall rating on content validity, structural validity, internal consistency and cross-cultural validity. The quality of evidence was rated as low due to a limited number of related validation studies. CONCLUSION: a few existing instruments to assess the ability to learn, grow and make decisions of older people can be identified in the literature. Further research is needed in validating them against functional, real-world outcomes.

Factors Associated With Obesity and Abdominal Obesity Among Malaysian Older Adults.

Obesity is a rising concern globally. This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with obesity and abdominal obesity (AO) among 5613 Malaysians aged 40 years and older via computer-assisted personal interviewing and anthropometric measurements. Obesity and AO prevalence were 37.8% and 63.1%, respectively. Significant associations were observed between: obesity with higher risk in patients aged between 40 and 49 years, Indians, females, income ≥RM 2000, and health status, and AO with higher risk in patients aged between 50 and 59 years, Indians, females, never married, income ≥RM 2000, and vigorous physical activity. Hence, age, sex, income, and ethnicity are associated with both obesity and AO. Promoting healthy body mass index and waist circumference is essential for healthy ageing.

Factors Associated With How Long People Would Like to Live.

This article examined the factors of how long people would like to live involving 462 respondents aged 40 years and older in Malaysia. Data collected through an online self-administered survey indicated that 75% of the respondents would like to live at least 80 years and on average most people would like to live 81 years. Rural respondents, those who agreed that they have a loving family, those who agreed that they want to continue working for as long as they can, respondents who believed that they will not need long-term care at 65 years and older, and those who may consider living in an assisted living facility were more likely to want to live at least 80 years compared with respondents who did not agree. Efforts should be targeted at promoting healthy lifestyle and providing more employment opportunities for older persons.

Predicting Employment Status of Injured Workers Following a Case Management Intervention.

BACKGROUND: The success of an injury intervention program can be measured by the proportion of successful return to work (RTW). This study examined factors of successful return to employment among workers suffering from work-related injuries. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Social Security Organization, Malaysia database consisting of 10,049 RTW program participants in 2010-2014. The dependent variable was the RTW outcome which consisted of RTW with same employer, RTW with new employer or unsuccessful return. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to test the likelihood of successful return with same employer and new employer against unsuccessful return. RESULTS: Overall, 65.3% of injured workers were successfully returned to employment, 52.8% to the same employer and 12.5% to new employer. Employer interest; motivation; age 30-49 years; intervention less than 9 months; occupational disease; injuries in the lower limbs, upper limbs, and general injuries; and working in the manufacturing, services, and electrical/electronics were associated with returning to work with the same employer against unsuccessful return. Male, employer interest, motivation, age 49 years or younger, intervention less than 6 months, occupational disease, injuries in the upper limbs and services sector of employment were associated with returning to new employer against unsuccessful return. CONCLUSION: There is a need to strengthen employer commitment for early and intensified intervention that will lead to improvement in the RTW outcome.

Understanding ageing: fear of chronic diseases later in life.

Objectives Ageing is often associated with deteriorating mental and physical health and the need for long-term care, creating a fear of ageing. We investigated what people fear most in terms of disabling chronic diseases and their concerns regarding having long-term illnesses. Methods Data were obtained from an online survey of 518 respondents aged 40 years and older residing in Malaysia, which was based on a convenience sample collected in May 2015 to January 2016. Data were analyzed using chi-squared tests and multinomial logistic regression. Results Of the most dreaded diseases, heart disease and cancer are life-threatening; however, dementia, diabetes, and hypertension persist and have a disabling effect for a long time. While there were variations in the diseases feared most across sex, ethnicity, and place of residence, the biggest worry for all respondents with regard to having a long-term illness was that they would become a burden to their family, a concern that superseded fear of dying. Conclusions We found our survey respondents had a fear of chronic diseases and placing a burden on others. Thus, there is a need to provide motivation for people to adopt a healthy lifestyle, to remain healthy.

Factors related to successful return to work following multidisciplinary rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: To examine factors associated with successful return to work among participants in a Social Security Organisation Return To Work programme. METHODS: Secondary data for 9,850 participants were obtained from the Social Security Organisation Return To Work database. The dependent variable was the Return To Work programme outcome, successful return to employment (same employer or different employer) or unsuccessful return. Logistic regression analysis with weighted sum contrasts was performed to assess the odds ratios with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for successful return to employment across the various subgroups of participants. RESULTS: Overall, 65.5% of participants successfully returned to employment, either with their former employers or with new employers. Successful return to employment was found to be significantly higher than the overall proportion among those participants who had had commuting accidents, followed by those who had had workplace accidents. Successful return to employment was also associated with injuries of the upper and lower limbs, employers who were interested in hiring disabled workers, motivation to participate in the programme, an intervention period of 3 months or less, age 29 years or younger, and male participants. CONCLUSION: A structured multidisciplinary intervention programme provides a positive outcome in terms of returning to work. Related factors have various impacts on successful return to work.

Return-to-Work Program for Injured Workers: Factors of Successful Return to Employment.

This study examined the factors of successful return to employment among participants in the return to work program (RTW) following work-related injury. Data were obtained from the Social Security Organization database containing 9850 injured workers who underwent RTW in 2010 to 2013. About 65% had successfully returned to employment. Significant factors of successful return include gender, employer interest, motivation, age, intervention duration, and type of injury. Male and motivated employees were more likely to return to employment compared with female and unmotivated employees, respectively. Participants from interested employers were 23.22 times more likely to return to work than those from uninterested employers, whereas participants whose intervention period exceeded 5 months were 41% less likely to return to work compared with those whose intervention period was within 3 months. Appropriate strategy and enhanced collaboration between the stakeholders would improve the proportion of successful return to employment.

WORK RELATED INJURY AND ILLNESS: EXPLORING THE RETURN-TO-WORK PROGRAM IN MALAYSIA.

Illness and injury have a significant impact on employees, their families and employers. The consequences faced by an injured worker could lead to disability, which could then lead to inability to work. This study examined the patterns of the Return to Work (RTW) using data from The Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) of Malaysia RTW database from 2010 to 2013. Factors of successful return to work, employees' salary upon returning to formal employment were also investigated. Gender, age, year of injury, industry, and job hierarchy were found to be significant predictors of employees' salary upon returning to work. Although there are other costs involved on the part of employers and employees, themselves, in the long term the financial returns that can be brought back by injured workers who have successfully returned to work combined with the qualitative benefits substantially outweighs the costs of RTW program.