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Background: Globally, the average age of the world's population of older people continues to rise and having a good social support network becomes increasingly relevant with the aging populace. Overall, in Malaysia, social support prevalence was low among older persons. This study was conducted to determine the association between social support and smoking status among the older Malaysian population. Methods: Data were obtained from the National Health and Morbidity (NHMS) 2018 survey on the health of older Malaysian adults and analyzed. This cross-sectional population-based study used a two-stage stratified random sampling design. Sociodemographic characteristics, smoking status, and social support data were collected from respondents aged 60 years and more. A validated Malay language interviewer-administered questionnaire of 11-items, the Duke Social Support Index, was utilized to assess the social support status. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association of social support and smoking status among the respondents. Results: The prevalence of good social support was significantly higher among the 60–69 years old (73.1%) compared to the ≥80 years old respondents (50%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that respondents aged ≥80 years old were 1.7 times more likely to have poor social support compared to those aged 60–69 years. Respondents with no formal education were 1.93 times more likely to have poor social support compared to respondents who had tertiary education. Respondents with an income of MYR 3000. Former smokers had good social support compared to current smokers (73.6% vs. 78.7%). For current smokers, they had poor social support, which is almost 1.42 times higher than that for non-smokers. Conclusion: There was poor social support among older people who were current smokers, had an increased age, had no formal education and had a low income. The findings obtained from this study could assist policymakers to develop relevant strategies at the national level to enhance the social support status among older smokers and aid in their smoking cessation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Literature exploring smoking status and its association with depression among the elderly population using nationwide data in Malaysia is limited. Hence, a nationwide survey to determine the prevalence of smoking and depression among the elderly (aged ≥60 years) population was undertaken. METHODS This secondary dataset analysis used data from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2018. Data from 3914 participants were collected on elderly health in the Malaysian population. Sociodemographic characteristics were recorded. Smoking status was grouped as current smokers, former smokers, and non-smokers. A validated Malay language version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (M-GDS-14) was used to screen for depression among the elderly. RESULTS There was a significant association between smoking status with location, gender, employment status, marital status, ethnicity, education level, income, and depression. Current smokers are significantly higher in rural than urban areas. Among depressed participants, 65.7%, 17.1% and 17.2% were non-smokers, former smokers and current smokers, respectively. Multiple logistic regression showed that single (unmarried/separated/ divorced/widowed) participants were more likely to be depressed compared to married participants (AOR=1.68; 95% CI: 1.16--2.43). Whilst unemployed participants were more likely to be depressed than those who were employed (AOR=1.72; 95% CI: 1.22--2.44). Other Bumiputras were more likely to have depression compared to Malay, Chinese and Indian participants. Participants without formal education were more likely to be depressed compared to those having tertiary education. These participants have a 2-fold increased risk of depression (AOR=2.13; 95% CI: 1.02--4.45). Participants whose monthly salaries were <2000 MYR (AOR=3.67; 95% CI: 1.84--7.31) and 1000--1999 MYR (AOR=2.71; 95% CI: 1.23--5.94) were more likely to have depression compared with those who had received ≥3000 MYR. Ever smokers were more likely to be depressed than non-smokers (AOR=1.68; 95% CI: 1.23-- 2.29). CONCLUSIONS Elderly Malaysians are indeed at risk of developing depression particularly if they had ever smoked. Public health awareness and campaigning are pertinent to disseminate these outcomes in order to spread the awareness associated with smoking-related depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to determine the socio-demographic predictors of adequate health literacy among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients attending two government health clinics in the district of Kuala Selangor. Methodology: A cross-sectional study using a validated self-administered questionnaire was performed with a total of 200 respondents with T2DM. The respondents were selected using systematic random sampling from a list of T2DM patients attending the two health clinics. The questionnaire consists of 2 sections on socio-demography characteristics and MY-TOFHLA. Significance level was set at p < 0.05. The predictors were then analysed using multiple logistic regression. Results: The response rate was 86.9% and85% of respondents had adequate health literacy. The odds of having adequate health literacy among those with secondary/tertiary education were 6 times higher compared to those with primary education [AOR = 5.990, 95% CI (1.301, 27.577), p = 0.022]. The odds of having adequate health literacy also increased by 5 times with 1 unit increase of household income [AOR = 4.836, 95% CI (1.152, 20.306), p = 0.031]. Conclusion: The prevalence of adequate health literacy was high among the T2DM patients in this study population. The predictors of adequate health literacy are level of education and household income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]