Trends in absenteeism rates following psychological intervention-preliminary results.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between absenteeism rates and psychological intervention over a 6-month period in an agency with 334 employees in Klang Valley, Malaysia, which had the highest absenteeism rates. METHODS: The absenteeism rates were measured every 6 months between January 1991 and December 1992. All employees were interviewed and those who scored one positive item on the diagnosis interviewed schedule (DIS) screening, were given counselling, referrals to appropriate agencies and treatment by 2 psychiatrists. RESULTS: Between July and December 1992, the frequency of absenteeism decreased, but the severity rate of absenteeism and the mean length (of a spell and lost time percentage) were higher compared to those in the preceding 6 months. We found that the percentage of absenteeism rate of less than 7 days was significantly reduced between July and December 1992, as compared to July and December 1991. CONCLUSION: Psychological interventions were likely to have contributed to the decreased absenteeism rates of less than 7 days but not for longer periods of absenteeism, which can be attributed to more serious illness or injuries.

Prevalence of overweight and obese school children aged between 7 to 16 years amongst the major 3 ethnic groups in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

6239 children aged 7 to 16 years, attending 22 primary and secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were screened using a self report questionnaire, with their heights and weights measured using a digital electronic SECA beam balance. The selection was done by a two staged stratified random sampling from a total of 226 schools in Kuala Lumpur. The racial distribution was 56.7% Malays, 33.8% Chinese and 8.1% Indians; 3.6% (n:222) of the children were identified as obese and 6% (n:373) identified as overweight. The definitions of obese and overweight were computed using growth charts of the National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) from the median of the reference population. There were no significant differences amongst the 3 major ethnic groups in the obese group. The differences were significant in the overweight group with the Indians most overweight, followed by the Chinese and the Malays.

Asperger's syndrome: a report of two cases from Malaysia.

Asperger's Syndrome is a distinct variant of autism, with a prevalence rate of 10 to 26 per 10,000 of normal intelligence, and 0.4 per 10,000 in those with mild mental retardation. The syndrome now has its own clinical entity and diagnostic criteria. It is being officially listed in the ICD-10 under pervasive developmental disorder. Two such cases are described in this article. Case One lacked the ability to relate to others, was excessively preoccupied with the late actor P. Ramlee and demonstrated a peculiar behaviour of holding on to toothbrushes in his early childhood. Cognitively, he was unable to synthesise words into meaningful sentences. Similarly, Case Two was unable to relate well to others and was preoccupied with the planets and its constellations. Though he appeared intelligent with an IQ score of 101, he was unable to follow instructions at school. Both children had motor clumsiness and fulfilled the criteria for the diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome.

Relationship of stress, experienced by rescue workers in the highland towers condominium collapse to probable risk factors--a preliminary report.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the level of stress experienced by rescue workers after the collapse of a 13 story condominium in Kuala Lumpur, and other probable risk factors. Within a month of the incident, 123 firefighters filled up the Impact of Life Event score (Horowitz) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The results indicated that 7 (6%) firemen could be classified as possible 'cases' on the GHQ, and significantly 5 from this group also scored highly on the impact of events score. No other risk factors were identified in the firemen. On conclusion, the GHQ can be used to screen those with high impact scores to pick up possible cases early enough, so that intervention can be successful.

A prevalence survey of mental disorders among children in a rural Malaysian village.

This is the first epidemiological survey of mental disorders among children in a Malaysian village. The WHO Research Questionnaire for Children (RQC) was used for initial screening followed by a semistructured interview, the Follow-up Interview for Children (FIC) at its second stage. Diagnosis was obtained by using Rutter's multi-axial classification. The prevalence rates obtained for the diagnostic categories were described in 3 age groups, in accordance with the age of attending school in Malaysia. Of 507 children screened aged 1-15, 6.1% were classified as having a mental disorder.