Over the past two decades, the population of Malaysia has grown rapidly and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Malaysia has dramatically increased, along with the frequency of obesity, hyperlipidaemia and hypertension. Early-life influences play an important role in the development of non-communicable diseases. Indeed, maternal lifestyle and conditions such as gestational diabetes mellitus or obesity can affect the risk of diabetes in the next generation. Lifestyle changes can help to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. This is a protocol for an unblinded, community-based, randomised controlled trial in two arms to evaluate the efficacy of a complex behavioural change intervention, combining motivational interviewing provided by a community health promoter and access to a habit formation mobile application, among young Malaysian women and their spouses prior to pregnancy.

Dengue is a vector borne disease which is one of the major threats to public health in Malaysia. Mapping of dengue distribution in spatial and spatial-temporal aspects can be a useful method in assessing the risk of dengue to the community. This study aimed to map the spatial and spatial-temporal distribution of dengue cases in Seremban district. The Geographical Information System specifically the spatial and spatial-temporal analyses was applied. Spatial statistical analysis of dengue cases used the Moran’s Index, average nearest neighbourhood (ANN) and kernel density estimation. Spatial-temporal analysis was determined through frequency, duration and intensity indices to identify timely dengue risk area. A total of 6076 dengue cases were reported in Seremban Health District Office from 2003-2009. The result showed a high incidence rate in 2003, 2008 dan 2009 with ratio of dengue: dengue hemorrhagic fever of 21.6:1. Moran’s I showed dengue cases occurred in cluster with Z-score of 16.384 (p=0.000). ANN analysis of 0.264 (p= 0.000) where the mean distance between every dengue case is 55 m. Kernel density estimation showed the dengue hotspots concentrated in Nilai and Ampangan. Spatial-temporal analysis with the highest mean of frequency, duration and intensity indices of above 0.023, 0.614 and 0.657 showed that the high risk dengue areas were Nilai, Seremban and Ampangan. The dengue control activities should be targeted at these high risk areas.

Introduction: The implementation of front-of-pack (FOP) energy icon labelling helps consumers in making good food choices. This is the first study in Malaysia focusing on such labelling since it was launched in 2012. It was aimed at determining the awareness and understanding of the FOP energy icon on food labels in Malaysia. Methods: A total of 366 consumers aged 18-60 years old in the state of Negeri Sembilan participated in the study. A guided, self-administered survey was conducted using a convenient sampling method. Results: The results showed that 85% of consumers surveyed were aware of FOP energy icon. Among those who were aware of the icon, 50% (n=155) were categorised as ‘excellent’ and 41% (n=128) categorised as ‘good’, for understanding the FOP. Conclusion: This study indicated that the icon could be viewed as a potential tool to be used in conjunction with the nutrition information panel (NIP). Most of the respondents could extract nutrition information from the FOP (energy) icon. The study showed that those who had understood the icon were in the group categories of high education, youth and female. There was also no significant association between those who received nutrition labelling education and level of understanding nutrition information from the icon. Therefore, it is important to further explore the possibility the beneficial impact of FOP labelling system, including consumer education aspects.

Despite being now recognised as a global health concern, there is still an inadequate amount of research into elder mistreatment, especially in low and middle-income regions. The purpose of this paper is to report on the design and methodology of a population-based cohort study on elder mistreatment among the older Malaysian population. The study aims at gathering data and evidence to estimate the prevalence and incidence of elder mistreatment, identify its individual, familial and social determinants, and quantify its health consequences.

Our study aims at describing mortality among reported elder abuse experiences in rural Malaysia. This is a population-based cohort study with a multistage cluster sampling method. Older adults in Kuala Pilah (n = 1,927) were interviewed from November 2013 to May 2014. Mortality was traced after 2 years using the National Registration Department database. Overall, 139 (7.2%) respondents died. Fifteen (9.6%) abuse victims died compared to 124 (7.0%) not abused. Mortality was highest with financial abuse (13%), followed by psychological abuse (10.8%). There was a dose-response relationship between mortality and clustering of abuse: 7%, 7.7%, and 14.0% for no abuse, one type, and two types or more, respectively. Among abuse victims, 40% of deaths had ill-defined causes, 33% were respiratory-related, and 27% had cardiovascular and metabolic origin. Results suggest a link between abuse and mortality. Death proportions varied according to abuse subtypes and gender. Keywords: Abuse outcome; Malaysia; descriptive study; effects of elder abuse; elder mistreatment; exploratory; family violence; mortality.