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Background. Pregnancy is one of the risks for severe COVID-19 infection, and receiving a vaccination is one of the effective methods to reduce disease severity. However, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women remains an issue. This study aims to develop and validate the pregnancy Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (pVHS) toward COVID-19 vaccine for Malaysian pregnant women. Method. An 8-item Malay language pregnancy Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (pVHS-M) for COVID-19 was adapted from the adult Vaccine Hesitancy Scale and validated using Exploratory Factor Analysis. Six expert panels were involved in content validity, and ten pregnant women were involved in face validity. A cross-sectional study on 200 pregnant women was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan. Result. The item-level content validity index is 1.00, demonstrating good relevance of the eight items used to assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The item-level face validity index obtained is 0.99, indicating that the items were clear and comprehensible. The Cronbach alpha score was 0.944, with factor loadings ranging from 0.79 to 0.89. Conclusion. The pVHS-M demonstrated good internal consistency, indicating that it is a valid and reliable tool for assessing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarcopenia is an emerging public health problem worldwide, but very limited information exits concerning the influence of lifestyle factors and inflammation on sarcopenia among community-dwelling older populations in Asia, including Malaysia. A total of 230 apparently healthy community-dwelling middle-aged and older Chinese adults were included in the study. Validated questionnaires were used to assess dietary and lifestyle practices, while pro-inflammatory cytokine status was assessed by blood interleukin-6 concentrations (IL-6). Sarcopenia risk was assessed by the newly revised diagnostic criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 12.5% with similar proportions of males and females. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that older age and higher concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokine levels of IL-6 were significantly associated with a greater risk of sarcopenia, after adjustments for potential known biological and body composition factors. The present findings indicate that older adults aged 70 years and above with higher inflammation levels had a significantly increased risk of sarcopenia. Hence, effective dietary and lifestyle intervention strategies should emphasize reducing the inflammation associated with aging to prevent the rapid loss of muscle mass and strength that can lead to sarcopenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Validation of the Malay version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) Methods A validation study was done involving 52 mothers who were at 4-12 weeks post-delivery. The women completed the Malay versions of EPDS and the 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). They were then assessed with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS). Psychiatric diagnoses were made based on ICD-10 criteria. The validity of EPDS was tested against this clinical diagnosis and the concurrent validity against the Malay version of 30-item GHQ and HDRS scores was also evaluated. Results The best cut-off score of the Malay version of EPDS was 11.5 with the sensitivity of 72.7% and specificity of 92.6 %. Conclusion The Malay version of EPDS is a valid and reliable screening tool for PND. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Geriatric Giants are the impairment that appear in older people. It comprises of impaired cognition, urinary incontinence, instability, fall and immobility. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of Geriatric Giants among older people living in three different living environment; own home, pondok and old folks home. Methods: This comparative study involved 471 respondents from Kelantan. There were 157 participants each from own home, pondok and old folks home. The prevalence of Geriatric Giants were determine by 10 minutes comprehensive screening which was developed to diagnose and manage the Geriatric Giants (WHO, 2007) and prevalence were compared using chi-square tests or Fisher exact test. Results: Prevalence of dementia among respondents of old folks home (11.5%), pondok (6.4%) and own home (0.6%). Prevalence of urinary incontinence among respondents of own home (22.3%), old folks home (16.6%) and pondok (14.0%). Prevalence of instability among respondents of old folk home (31.2%), pondok (27.4%) and own home (14.0%). Prevalence of fall among respondents of pondok (33.1%), old folks home (24.25) and own home (19.7%). Old folk home respondents had the highest prevalence of moderate and severe immobility There were significant difference in prevalence of dementia ((Fisher exact p value <0.001), instability (χ2(2)=13.957,p=0.001), fall (χ2(2)=7.629,p=0.022) and mild and moderate immobility. Conclusion: Old folks home respondents had more prevalence of Geriatric Giants compared to their other counter parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]