Unhealthy lifestyle contributes mainly to an increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases including hypertension and cardiovascular diseases tend to increase in Malaysia. These diseases lead to an increased risk of end organ damage and cardiovascular complications. In this study, the prevalence of prehypertension and its associated risk factors among a cohort of university students in Sabah was determined. This is a prospective, cross-sectional study conducted among 365 undergraduate students irrespective of faculties at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). Standardized and validated World Health Organization (WHO) STEPS questionnaires were used to collect sociodemographic data. Additionally, clinical and anthropometric data were measured and recorded by a trained staff, followed by descriptive and logistic regression analyses. A total of 365 UMS undergraduate students aged 18 years and above participated in the study. The prevalence of prehypertension among university students was high (31%) (95% CI [29.1%, 34.3%]). Well-known risk factors for hypertension including family history of hypertension, reduced sleep duration, reduced physical activity, smoking, being overweight or obese were significantly associated with the risk of developing prehypertension (P < .05) among UMS students. However, no association was observed between ethnicity, age, and gender with prehypertension. A worryingly high percentage of UMS students are prehypertensive, indicating the need of early preventive strategies aimed at increasing awareness, early screening, and lifestyle modification to reduce the rising burden of the disease and the associated complications in this age group.

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Introduction Obesity has been proven to have adverse effects on fertility and is one of the predisposing factors for delay in pregnancy even with the use of assisted reproductive technique. There are many pathways in which obesity can affect fertility such as anovulation, poor implantation and low-quality oocyte. Case presentation We report a case of a 40-year-old lady with primary infertility for six years with underlying polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and BMI 45.7 whom was successfully conceived twice following bariatric surgery procedure in which reduction of 70% of her BMI prior to bariatric surgery lead to her spontaneous conception without fertility intervention and successful live birth. Clinical discussion Obese PCOS needs multidisciplinary approaches which include weight loss program such as dietary advice, exercise intervention as part of preliminary treatment prior to ovulation induction and counselling. Conclusion Bariatric surgery has been a mainstay treatment in patients with morbid obesity and those with BMI more than 35 associated with obesity related problems such as joint pain, hypertension or diabetes mellitus. Bariatric surgery such as laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy should be considered more often in contrast to lifestyle modification for morbidly obese lady with PCOS and infertility prior to the use of standard ovulation induction regime for treating infertility.

Background: Dengue fever infection has become a major public health concern in Malaysia with frequent epidemics occurring in urban areas. In Sabah, Dengue fever is among the 5 most reported communicable diseases and the district of Kota Kinabalu is among the top 3 districts with the highest number of dengue cases with 563 cases recorded in 2016. Aims and Methodolgy: This study aimed to determine the factors contributing or associated with dengue fever occurrence in Kota Kinabalu. A cross- sectional study was conducted among the primary health care clinic attendees in Kota Kinabalu. Data was collected via a set of structured questionnaires focusing on socio-demographic characteristic of participants, environmental characteristic of households, history of previous exposure to dengue fever, knowledge towards dengue fever and its vector, awareness on dengue fever and mosquito control and dengue fever prevention practices. Results and Recommendations: Among the 350 individual’s that participated in the interview, 53 were dengue fever cases. Subsequently, the prevalence of Dengue fever cases among the study population was calculated with prevalence in percentage concluded as 15.1%. Further analysis revealed that factors such as aged group by years, number of household occupants, staying at dengue outbreak areas, self – reported history of recent mosquito bites, indoor and outdoor storage of open water containers, installed house window screens, knowledge on dengue fever and its vector, practices of wearing protective clothing outdoor and usage of mosquito repellent ointment or creams showed significant association with dengue fever outcomes. However, further studies would need to be conducted to determine if these factors possess a higher threat or risk for dengue fever. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.20(4) 2021 p.878-886

Concerns about the health and safety of working populations as well as preventive actions to reduce heat-related illnesses and fatalities have intensified as global warming and heatwaves continue to rise as a result of climate change. This study aimed to translate and culturally-adapted the translated Malay version of the Heat Strain Score Index (HSSI) questionnaire so that it can be utilized as a screening tool for heat stress among the Malay-speaking outdoor workers. The original English version of HSSI underwent forward-backward translation and was cross-culturally adapted into the Malay language by bilingual translators based on established guidelines. The content validation was reviewed by a six-member expert committee including the representative of outdoor workers. Face validation was carried out among 10 outdoor workers involved with various work tasks. Psychometric analysis was conducted based on a cross-sectional study among 188 workers who were eligible. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used for construct validity while internal consistency reliability was performed using Cronbach’s alpha. The interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to calculate the test-retest reliability. Both content and face validity were acceptable with the overall content validity index being 1.00, while the universal face validity index was 0.83. The factor analysis using varimax rotation extracted four factors which explained 56.32% of the cumulative percentage of variance and factor loading ranging from 0.415 to 0.804. The internal consistency reliability was acceptable with Cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.705 to 0.758 for all the factors. The overall ICC value was 0.792 (95% CI; 0.764–0.801) which signifies good reliability. The findings from this study indicate that the Malay version of HSSI is a reliable and culturally-adapted instrument. Further validation is needed so that it can be used extensively assess the heat stress among susceptible Malay-speaking outdoor workers in Malaysia who are exposed to hot humid environments.