Breast cancer and lifestyle risks among Chinese women in the Klang Valley in 2001.

Breast cancer is one of the commonest cancers among women in Malaysia. The relation between lifestyle practices and the risk of breast cancer in Chinese women aged 21-55 years were assessed using data collected from June to October 2001, via a face-to face interview in a case control study in the Breast Clinics of Kuala Lumpur Hospital and University Malaya Medical Centre. A total of 89 cases with breast cancer were compared with 85 controls without the disease. Our study showed that breastfeeding had an odds ratio of 4.43 after adjustment for confounders. The results add to the evidence of a protective association between breast feeding practices and breast cancer particularly among Chinese women receiving treatment at two government hospitals in the Klang Valley.

Comparison of the health implications on the use of As and Cd contaminated water supply between urban and rural communities.

A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) concentrations in blood, urine, and drinking water as well as the health implications on 100 residents in an urban and a rural community. Results showed the blood As, urinary Cd, DNA damage, and water As and Cs were significantly (P < 0.001) higher in the rural community. Findings showed significant (P < 0.005) correlations between blood As and DNA damage with household income, years of residence, and total glasses of daily water consumption among the rural residents. The urinary NAG concentrations, years of residence, milk powder intake (glass/week), and seafood intake (per week) were significantly correlated (P < 0.005) with urinary Cd concentrations among respondents. In addition, urinary Cd level significantly influenced the urinary NAG concentrations (P < 0.001). The rural respondents experienced significantly higher lymphocyte DNA damage and blood As influenced by their years of residence and water consumption. The Cd in drinking water also resulted in the rural respondents having significantly higher urinary NAG which had a significant relationship with urinary Cd.

Validation of Malaysian translated distress thermometer with problem checklist among the breast cancer survivors in Malaysia.

INTRODUCTION: Distress thermometer (DT) is a single-item measure generated to assess the psychological distress among cancer patients. The aim of this study was to validate the translated DT as a tool to determine the psychological distress level and assess the factors associated with distress among the working breast cancer survivors and also to compare with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). METHODS: 150 working breast cancer survivors were interviewed using the Malay and Chinese language translated version of DT and HADS. RESULTS: Based on HADS, 23.3% were anxious, 19.3% were depressed whereas 15.3% experienced both anxiety and depression. About 14.7% of the respondents reported distress (cutoff≥5) on DT. A significant association was found between the DT and HADS which indicated that both were measuring the same construct, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-T (F=71.34, p<0.001), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-A (F=65.81, p<0.001), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-D (F=74.28, p<0.001). This study also showed that a cut-off of ≥5 on DT yielded an area under Receiver analysis characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.95 with a sensitivity of 90.9% and specificity of 89.8% for HADS-T score defined as cases. On the problem checklist, respondents scoring above the cut-off of 5 on DT had a greater number of problems with family (70.0%), emotional (65.0%), physical (60.0%), practical (50.0%) and spiritual/religious (15.0%) issues. DISCUSSION: Overall, DT was a useful and simple screening tool to indicate psychological distress. The translated DT has a good sensitivity and specificity for screening psychological distress among the Malaysian breast cancer survivors.

The influence of low blood lead concentrations on the cognitive and physical development of primary school children in Malaysia.

This study aimed to determine the relationship between blood lead (BPb) concentrations and cognitive and physical development in school children. A total of 169 urban children and 100 industrial children of Malay ethnicity, in the age range of 6(1/2) to 8(1/2) years, were selected. BPb was determined using GF atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The mean cognitive score (102.55) of the children from the industrial area was significantly higher than that of the urban children (95.09; P < .001). However, no significant differences were found in the BPb levels between the 2 groups (industrial, 3.75 microg/dL; urban, 3.56 microg/dL). There was significant inverse correlation between BPb and cognitive scores for all children (P < .05). The cognitive scores for all children were influenced by BPb after adjustments (P < .05). The urban children had significantly better Weight for Height and Left Arm Circumference values than those from industrial area. There was no significant correlation between BPb and the anthropometric measurements. In conclusion, low BPb influenced the cognitive development, whereas physical development was not affected.