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BackgroundThe scarcity of data about coping styles with a biochemical marker namely lipid profile, potentially associated with cardiovascular risk factors is most striking among professionals working in public university. Hence, this research aimed to investigate the relationship between coping styles and lipid profile comprising total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), HDL-cholesterol (high density lipoprotein-cholesterol) and LDL-cholesterol (Low density lipoprotein-cholesterol) among this group of professionals.MethodsA cross sectional survey was conducted among staff from a tertiary education centre. Subjects were contacted to ascertain their medical history. A total of 320 subjects were interviewed and 195 subjects were eligible and subsequently recruited on a suitable date for taking blood and administration of the questionnaires. The subjects completed questionnaires pertaining to demographic details and coping styles. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength of association between lipid profile and coping styles.ResultsMajority of the subjects were non-academic staff (60.0%), female (67.2%), Malay (91.8%), married (52.3%) and educated until Diploma level (34.9%). Academic staff scored significantly higher mean scores in task-oriented coping styles (Mean = 64.12). Non-academic staff scored significantly higher mean scores in emotion (Mean = 48.05) and avoidance-oriented coping styles (Mean = 57.61). Malay subjects had significantly higher mean scores in emotion (Mean = 47.14) and avoidance-oriented coping styles (Mean = 55.23). Non-malay subjects (Mean = 66.00) attained significantly higher mean scores in task-oriented coping styles. Single/divorced/widowed individuals scored significantly higher mean scores in emotion (Mean = 48.13) and avoidance-oriented coping styles (Mean = 56.86). There was a significant negative correlation between TC (r = −0.162) and LDL (r = −0.168) with avoidance-oriented coping styles (p = 0.023, p = 0.019 respectively).ConclusionAvoidance-oriented coping style was more likely to engender favourable lipid profile. Hence, assessment of coping styles would certainly assist health care practitioners in predicting subjects who would be at a greater risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Insomnia is an arising common health problem in Malaysia. There are many factors contributed to insomnia in young adults but very few are known. Increasing usage of social media may be one of the contributing factors to insomnia along its association with the sociodemographic factors. The objective of this study was to measure the prevalence of insomnia and to study its association with usage of social media and sociodemographic factors among university students. A cross-sectional based questionnaire was conducted among 445 students aged 18-30 years old in a private university in Selangor from July to August 2018. The questionnaire consisted of three parts to assess insomnia, social media usage and some socio-demographic factors. The age of the respondents ranged from 19 to 33 years old and the majority was relatable to insomnia (69%). The frequency of accessing social media was significantly associated with insomnia (p value=0.005). The time of the day of accessing social media mostly was significantly associated as well with insomnia, especially evening (p value=0.02), night time (p value=0.01) and before sleeping time (p value=0.04). The use of gadgets (phones/laptops/tablets) before sleeping at night also showed significant association with insomnia (p value=0.003). The sociodemographic factors (gender, age, race, income, relationship and living status) showed no significant association with insomnia. As a conclusion, the most influential factors that significantly associated to insomnia among students in a private university were the frequency of accessing social media, time of social media usage (the evening, night and before sleeping), and the usage of gadgets before sleeing on bed.

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