Psychological and work-related factors predicting work engagement in Malaysian employees.

BACKGROUND: Past research on work engagement has focused almost exclusively on either psychological or work-related factors in almost wholly separate literature. There is therefore a need to examine how these factors collectively influence work engagement. AIMS: To determine levels of work engagement and to identify psychological and work-related characteristics predicting work engagement in employees in Malaysia. METHODS: We recruited 5235 employees from 47 public and private organizations in Malaysia who responded to an online health survey. We assessed work engagement with the 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) and psychological distress using the 6-item Kessler scale. We performed multiple linear regression to determine predictors of work engagement. RESULTS: Employee mean age was 33.8 years (standard deviation [SD] ± 8.8). The mean work engagement score on the UWES-9 was 3.53 (SD ± 0.94). Eleven of 18 variables on multiple regression predicted work engagement, F(18, 4925) = 69.02, P < 0.001, R2 = 0.201. Factors that predicted higher work engagement were age, marital status, education level, job type, job permanency, longer sleep duration, lower psychological distress and no history of workplace bullying. CONCLUSIONS: Key factors associated with poorer work engagement in Malaysian employees include inadequate sleep, psychological distress and a history of workplace bullying. These are modifiable factors that individuals and employers can target to improve work engagement, ideally tailored according to occupational type.

Juara Sihat: assessing the sustained impact of a school-based obesity intervention.

INTRODUCTION: Obesity and physical inactivity among school children are among the most challenging health problems in Malaysia. The present study aimed to evaluate the sustained impact of Juara Sihat programme on physical activity level and anthropometric status at 18-month post-intervention. METHOD: Participants of Juara Sihat (n=55) were followed-up at 18 months after completion of the intervention. Juara Sihat intervention was implemented over 12 weeks and focused on four key components: (i) five one-hour nutrition education classes, (ii) four one-hour physical activity education sessions, (iii) family involvement, and (iv) empowerment of Parents and Teachers Association. Anthropometric variables (body mass index, body fat percentage and waist circumference) were measured and physical activity level was evaluated by using Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) at baseline (P0), immediately upon completion of intervention (P1), at three-month post-intervention (P2), and at 18-month postintervention (P3). Analyses of repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with intention-to-treat principle were applied. RESULTS: Sustained effects were found in BMI-for-age z-score which showed a reduction (P0 2.41±0.84 vs P3 2.27±0.81) and physical activity level which showed positive improvements (P0 2.46±0.62 vs P3 2.87±0.76) at 18 months after intervention was completed. Body fat and waist circumference had increased over the same time period. CONCLUSION: Overall, this study successfully demonstrated sustained intervention effects of Juara Sihat intervention on BMI-for-age z-score and physical activity, but not on body fat percentage and waist circumference.

A Review of Smoking Research In Malaysia.

Two hundred and seventy one original published materials related to tobacco use were found in a search through a database dedicated to indexing all original data relevant to Medicine and Health in Malaysia from 1996 - 2015. A total of 147 papers were selected and reviewed on the basis of their relevance and implications for future research. Findings were summarised, categorised and presented according to epidemiology, behaviour, clinical features and management of smoking. Most studies are cross-sectional with small sample sizes. Studies on smoking initiation and prevalence showed mixed findings with many small scale studies within the sub-groups. The majority of the studies were related to factors that contribute to initiation in adolescents. Nonetheless, there are limited studies on intervention strategies to curb smoking among this group. There is a lack of clinical studies to analyse tobacco use and major health problems in Malaysia. In addition, studies on the best treatment modalities on the use of pharmacotherapy and behavioural counselling have also remained unexplored. Reasons why smokers do not seek clinic help to quit smoking need further exploration. A finding on the extent of effort carried out by healthcare providers in assisting smokers to make quit attempts is not known. Studies on economic and government initiatives on policies and tobacco use focus mainly on the effects of cigarette bans, increased cigarettes taxes and the influence of the tobacco industry. Recommendations are given for the government to increase efforts in implementing smoke-free legislation, early and tailored interventions. Clinical studies in this area are lacking, as are opportunities to research on ways to reduce smoking initiation age and the most effective quit smoking strategies.

Prevalence and characteristics of e-cigarette users among Malaysian current and ex-smokers.

INTRODUCTION: Electronic cigarettes (ECs) are new devices that have been accepted widely by both smokers and non-smokers. However, the evidence on EC used in Malaysia is scarce. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of EC use and the socio-demographic and smoking characteristics associated with current EC use among Malaysian current and ex-smokers. METHODS: This was a sub-analysis of data from a cross-sectional, national-population- based EC study conducted from May to June in 2016 in Malaysia. A detailed description of the sampling methods can be found in the National E-cigarette Survey (NECS) 2016 report. Briefly, data were obtained from 1396 individuals who had ever been smokers, i.e., 957 (68.6%) current smokers and 439 (31.4%) ex-smokers. RESULTS: Current EC use was found predominantly among current smokers (8.0%) as compared with ex-smokers (4.3%). Among current smokers, the main reasons given for smoking ECs were wanting to try it (44.7%), followed by intention to quit tobacco smoking (15.8%) and to reduce tobacco smoking (10.5%). Using multiple logistic regression analysis, we found that among current smokers, current EC users were more likely to be younger, i.e., 18-44 years (aOR= 4.83, 95% CI= 1.97-11.86, p=0.001), urban residents (aOR= 1.89, 95% CI= 1.15-3.11, p=0.012), single/ divorced/ widowed (aOR= 2.11, 95% CI= 1.24-3.61, p=0.006) and students (aOR= 2.25, 95% CI= 1.01-5.01, p=0.048). Among exsmokers, only younger respondents (18-44 years old) was reported as being more likely to be current EC users (aOR= 3.81, 95% CI= 1.14-12.76, p=0.030). CONCLUSION: This study showed that currently using and ever having used ECs were more prevalent among current smokers. The reasons given for initiating EC use among current smokers were mainly wanting to try it, followed by intention to quit and to reduce tobacco smoking. Current EC use appears to be common among current smokers who are younger, urban residents, single/divorced/widowed and students. Therefore, EC cessation intervention strategies and policies should target these high-prevalence groups.

The effect of inhaled 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) on airway calibre in man.

Since platelet activation has been incriminated in the pathogenesis of asthma, we have investigated the effect of one of its major granule-derived mediators, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) on airway calibre in normal (12), atopic non-asthmatic (12) and atopic asthmatic subjects (16). On separate days subjects inhaled increasing concentrations of 5-HT and methacholine, and airway response was measured as FEV1, Vmax30 and sGaw. All subjects bronchoconstricted with methacholine, geometric mean provocation concentrations causing a 20% fall in FEV1 (PCf20) for the normal, atopic non-asthmatic and atopic asthmatic subjects being 28.6, 18.3 and 0.71 mM respectively. In contrast, 5-HT up to a maximum concentration of 77 mM had no consistent effect on FEV1, Vmax30 or sGaw in any of the subject groups. Thus, in contrast to a variety of animals, 5-HT is unlikely to serve as a significant bronchoconstrictor mediator in man.

The incidence of post dural puncture headache in children.

One hundred and five children with malignant disease attended for lumbar puncture which was performed under general anaesthesia. A questionnaire was answered over the next three days to determine the incidence of post dural puncture headache Ninety-seven questionnaires were returned and the results show that no child aged under ten years developed a headache. Of the children aged 10-12 years, two out of seventeen developed a headache (11.8%). In children aged 13-18 years, five out of ten developed a headache (50%).

Remifentanil infusion for major abdominal surgery in small infants.

Neonates are known to be sensitive to volatile anaesthetic agents which may lead to prolonged recovery. In this study, a remifentanil infusion was used in conjunction with an infusion of epidural ropivacaine and isoflurane anaesthesia for major abdominal surgery in small infants. This led to a short recovery time for infants aged 7 days to 3 months but a prolonged recovery in those under the age of 7 days. Good perioperative analgesia was achieved.

Ethyl eicosapentaenoate restored the immunosuppression in mice fed fat-free diet.

The effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on the humoral immune response in fat free diet-fed (FF) mice were studied. The lowered anti-SRBC PFC activity of ICR male FF mice was restored in a dose-dependent manner when EPA was administered orally at doses of 60-360 mg/kg/day for 20 days. In in vitro experiments, EPA similarly enhanced anti-SRBC PFC activity but did not affect the response against lipopolysaccharide. Furthermore, EPA did not cause any substantial effect on T suppressor cell activity induced by Concanavalin A in vitro. On the other hand, T helper cell activity induced by keyhole limpet hemocyanin was augmented. From these results, it is suggestive that EPA caused immunopotentiation to FF mice at least partially by an enhancement of T helper cell activities.