Students' perception of vasectomy as a contraceptive method was encouraging. Our results suggest that their knowledge improved as medical training progressed, and attitudes evolved for the better irrespective of their traditional, cultural and religious beliefs - highlighting the importance of providing students with evidence-based learning about male sterilisation, which is more cost-effective and less morbid than female sterilisation. A future qualitative study involving students from different ethnicities and religions would provide a better understanding of this subject.

This cross-sectional study investigated the use of alternative medications to alleviate menopause-related symptoms among Malay, Chinese, and Indian women of Ipoh city. The prevalence, types, effectiveness, and associated factors were determined. The prevalence of alternative medication use was 41.4%. Evening primrose oil (EPO) was the most popular medication used (18.1%), followed by soy-based products (12.3%), green tea (6.8%), and gingko (5.8%). The medication was reported to be highly effective by 58.3% of soya bean diet users and 41.1% of EPO users. Significant variables associated with the use were Chinese or Indian ethnicity (P < .001), age between 50 and 54 years (P < .01), lower self-health rating (P < .05), education level of diploma or professional degree (P < .05), employment as professionals or entrepreneurs (P < .05), and the use of hormone replacement therapy (P < .05). Regression analysis showed that Chinese and Indians had significantly higher odds for the use than Malays (Chinese: odds ratio [OR] = 4.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.392-7.837; Indians: OR = 3.248, 95% CI = 1.586-6.654).

Introduction: Stevia is a safe, zero calorie, low glycaemic, natural sweetener and is suitable for pre-diabetic and diabetic patients. This study investigated the perceived effect of a stevia product on taste, satiety, appetite and carbohydrate craving, and its acceptance as a sugar substitute. Methodology: An exploratory study was conducted among the randomly selected group of 73 medical students and eight lecturers. The participants consumed commercially available stevia,replacing sugar, with their morning drink for a week. Data was collected by face to face interview using a standardized questionnaire pre and post stevia challenge. Results: The Majority (66.7%) of respondents from student group liked the taste of stevia,74.1% experienced after taste and 65.4% reported taste change of the drink with stevia. During the challenge week, 34.6% experienced early satiety, 8.6% had increased appetite and 16.0% noted carbohydrate craving. The majority of respondents were willing to continue with stevia for their health benefits and 95.1% wanted to recommend it for diabetic patients. In contrary, 66.7% of participants from lecturer group did not like the taste of stevia. Significant association was found between the amount of stevia used and liking the taste of stevia (p <0.05). Taste liking is positively (p <0.001)and perceived taste change of the drink is negatively correlated to its acceptance ( p <0.05). Conclusion:The majority of respondents demonstrated good acceptance of commercially available stevia product.Liking sweet taste of stevia and perceived taste change of their drink determined the acceptance of stevia product among health educated individuals. Future research should focus on effectiveness of natural sweeteners in reducing calorie intake to fight against obesity to provide public health policy makers with more evidence based information on use of non-caloric sweeteners.

Objectives: Early menopause is shown to correlate with an increased rate of cardiovascular diseases with age advancement. Smoking, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), and the socio-economic level are consistently linked with the onset of menopause though there is no consensus on the residential factor. Considering the undesirable relation of menopause with women’s health, the present review sought to identify the correlation between the rural-urban factor and natural menopausal age. Methods: A comprehensive literature search, covering publications from 1984 to 2017, was done using several databases such as MEDLINE, PubMed, and Google scholar. Evidence from 13 research articles was analyzed for a rural-urban difference in natural menopausal age. The search was later expanded to explore correctable confounding factors such as smoking habits, physical activities, and BMI. Results: Rural women in the Asian region appeared to reach their natural menopausal age earlier than their urban counterparts. This was in contrast with the majority of findings in the non-Asian regions, suggesting a regional variation in the rural-urban difference in natural menopausal age. Based on the findings, earlier menopausal age was related to smoking prevalence and this relationship was consistent in both Asian and non-Asian regions. Similarly, higher physical activity was linked to the early age of natural menopause in both Asian and non-Asian regions. Finally, the results revealed the association between higher BMI and higher menopausal age in the Asian region although this association was not observed in the non-Asian regions. Conclusions: The rural-urban difference in menopausal age has regional variations with rural Asian women reaching menopause earlier than their urban counterparts, but this association was not replicated in the non-Asian regions. Eventually, this difference was affected by factors such as tobacco smoking, high physical activity, and BMI.

Chinese and Indian women used alternative medicine in prevention and treatment of menopause-related problems even as they were avoiding HRT because of the fear of side effects. They believed that their supplements were effective, safe and cost-beneficial even with long-term use.