Br J Ophthalmol 2002;86:951-956 Background: A national eye survey was conducted in 1996 to determine the prevalence of blindness and low vision and their major causes among the Malaysian population of all ages. Methods: A stratified two stage cluster sampling design was used to randomly select primary and secondary sampling units. Interviews, visual acuity tests, and eye examinations on all individuals in the sampled households were performed. Estimates were weighted by factors adjusting for selection probability, non-response, and sampling coverage. Results: The overall response rate was 69% (that is, living quarters response rate was 72.8% and household response rate was 95.1%). The age adjusted prevalence of bilateral blindness and low vision was 0.29% (95% CI 0.19 to 0.39%), and 2.44% (95% CI 2.18 to 2.69%) respectively. Females had a higher age adjusted prevalence of low vision compared to males. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of bilateral low vision and blindness among the four ethnic groups, and urban and rural residents. Cataract was the leading cause of blindness (39%) followed by retinal diseases (24%). Uncorrected refractive errors (48%) and cataract (36%) were the major causes of low vision. Conclusion: Malaysia has blindness and visual impairment rates that are comparable with other countries in the South East Asia region. However, cataract and uncorrected refractive errors, though readily treatable, are still the leading causes of blindness, suggesting the need for an evaluation on accessibility and availability of eye care services and barriers to eye care utilisation in the country.

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Objective: To assess the prevalence of dental anxiety and phobia among Malaysian medical and dental undergraduates of 2019. Materials and Methods: A validated Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear Scale (IDAF-4C+) questionnaires were distributed to medical and dental undergraduates in UiTM Sungai Buloh (n=460) via stratified random sampling. Demographic characteristics data were also collected. A cut point of 2.5 in average score for dental anxiety and fear (IDAF-4C) module was set to indicate the presence of dental anxiety. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the prevalence at while Pearson’s correlation was used to check its correlation towards related dental stimuli. The association of sociodemographic factors towards dental anxiety and fear were evaluated by logistic regression. Results: This study found that medical undergraduates reported higher prevalence of dental fear (25.6%) as compared to dental undergraduates (18.9%). The highest stimuli correlated to dental anxiety and fear is ‘feeling sick, queasy or disgusted’ (r=0.537) followed by ‘not being in control of what is happening’ (r=0.484).  Having unpleasant dental experience rose the likelihood of dental anxiety and fear by four times. Those from high-income family has 51.7% lower likelihood of dental anxiety and fear versus to those from low-income family. Conclusion: We conclude that dental anxiety is relatively prevalent even among medical and dental undergraduates in Malaysia. Feeling sick, queasy and disgusted are found to be the most correlated stimulus among medical undergraduates.