Victimisation, Depression and Suicidal Ideation among Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Adults in Malaysia.

Background: Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals have been found to experience a high prevalence of psychological conditions. The present study aims to examine the relationship between victimisation, depression and suicidal ideation among LGB adults in Malaysia. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design. We distributed the questionnaire online using snowball sampling and self-identified LGB adults responded to the survey. Scales on sexual minority-specific victimisation, depression and suicidal ideation were employed. The data were analysed using Spearman rank order correlation and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: The study included 220 adults in Malaysia (156 males and 64 females; 58 lesbian, 112 gays and 50 bisexuals). Ninety-two participants (41.8%) reported experiencing sexual minority-specific victimisation; 29 participants (13.2%), 35 participants (15.9%) and 23 participants (10.5%) were mildly, moderately and severely depressed, respectively and 44.0% participants were experiencing current suicidal ideation. The correlations were fair (r s = 0.30) between victimisation and depression, poor (r s = 0.16) between victimisation and suicidal ideation, and moderate (r s = 0.60) between depression and suicidal ideation. There were no differences between homosexual and bisexual participants in victimisation, depression and suicidal ideation. Conclusion: This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between victimisation, depression and suicidal ideation among LGB adults in Malaysia.

Preliminary Analysis of the Factor Structure, Reliability and Validity of an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Screening Tool for Use with Adults in Malaysia.

This is a preliminary study to examine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) screening tool for use in the Malaysian setting. A total of 199 Malaysian adults were recruited for this study. After cleaning and normalizing the data, 190 samples were left to be analyzed. Principle component analysis using varimax rotation was then performed to examine various factors derived from psychometric tools commonly used to assess OCD patients. The screening tool exhibited three factors that fit the description of obsessions and compulsions from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5th Edition (DSM 5), as well as other common symptoms that co-morbid with OCD. The labels given to the three factors were: Severity of Compulsions, Severity of Obsessions, and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety. Reliability analysis showed high reliability with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.94, whereas convergent validity of the tool with the Yale Brown Obsessive-compulsive Scale-Self Report demonstrated good validity of r = 0.829. The three-factor model explained 68.91% of the total variance. Subsequent studies should focus on OCD factors that are culturally unique in the Malaysian context. Future research may also use online technology, which is cost-efficient and accessible, to further enhance the screening tool.

Relationships between social support and depression, and quality of life of the elderly in a rural community in Malaysia.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to examine the role of social support and depression in predicting the quality of life among the elderly living in a rural Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) community in Malaysia. METHODS: A total of 162 elderly settlers of FELDA Sungai Tengi, aged 60 years and above, were selected by universal sampling method in this cross-sectional study. Three standardized instruments - the 12-item Short Form (SF-12), 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) and Medical Outcome Study Social Support (MOS-Social Support) - were used to assess for quality of life, depression and social support. RESULTS: Quality of life of the elderly people in this community was high, especially in terms of physical components as compared to mental components. The mean scores for emotional role in the SF-12 was relatively the highest (90.74 ± 21.59) with social functioning being the lowest (30.35 ± 22.29). The results also showed that the mean value was higher for physical component summary (74.40) as compared to mental component summary (51.51). Approximately 23.5% suffered mild depression and only 2.5% had severe depression. DISCUSSION: This study showed that the elderly FELDA settlers have a high quality of life, mainly on the physical components of life and low rate of severe depression, a positive indicator of their psychological well-being. Social support in the form of emotional/informational support, and depression were significant factors related to their good quality of life.

Loneliness and depression among the elderly in an agricultural settlement: mediating effects of social support.

INTRODUCTION: Loneliness has long been known to have strong association with depression. The relationship between loneliness and depression, however, has been associated with other risk factors including social support. The aim of this paper is to describe the role of social support in the association between loneliness and depression. METHODS: This cross-sectional study examined the mediating effects of social support among 161 community-based elderly in agricultural settlement of a rural area in Sungai Tengi, Malaysia. Subjects were investigated with De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale and Medical Outcome Survey Social Support Survey. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, linear and hierarchical regression. RESULTS: Results indicated that social support partially mediated the relationship between loneliness and depression. DISCUSSION: This suggests that social support affects the linear association between loneliness and depression in the elderly.

Levels of metallic elements and their potential relationships to cognitive function among elderly from Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) settlement in Selangor Malaysia.

Exposure to toxic metals and excessive amount of trace elements is a risk factor of cognitive decline. Continuous monitoring of these elements by the use of metabolically inactive tissues such as fingernails may help in taking preventive measures to delay the cognitive decline process. In this study, the cognitive function of 54 elderlies (60-72 years old) from FELDA Sungai Tengi, Selangor, was evaluated using the Malay version of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The levels of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in fingernail were detected using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry. Results showed that (92.6 %) our population was cognitively impaired based on the MoCA with mean score of 18.07 ± 5.11. The mean level of elements in fingernails for As, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn were 16.68 ± 3.52, 4.26 ± 0.91, 4.81 ± 1.16, 1.00 ± 0.23, 1.83 ± 0.47, and 40.86 ± 10.81 µg/g, respectively. Significant inverse correlations were observed between MoCA with age (r = -0.543, p < 0.01), Cu level (r = -0.330, p < 0.05), and Mn level (r = -0.496, p < 0.01). MMSE was correlated to age (r = -0.346, p < 0.05) only. In conclusion, besides aging, the progression of cognitive decline among the elderly FELDA population was associated with increased levels of copper and manganese.