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Introduction: Port container terminal workers have high potential to develop hypertension due to their work nature that exposed to high altitude working area, long working hours and other risk factors. Most workers at port container terminals were male who are at higher risk to get hypertension according to National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019. It is important for the port workers to maintain a healthy lifestyle for them to improve their quality of work as well as to avoid from getting chronic diseases like hypertension. Objective: This cross-sectional study was aimed to determine the most significant risks factors associated with hypertension among the port workers. Methods: A total of 200 male port container terminal workers participated in this study. Sociodemographic background, lifestyle, and work-related factors were obtained by using questionnaire which consists of 5 sections; A: Socio Demographic Information; B: Working Characteristics; C: Disease History; D; Sample Measurement; and E: Daily Dietary Intake. The blood pressure of the workers was obtained by using Omron HEM-7221-Z Automatic Blood Pressure Monitor. Results: The prevalence of hypertension among the workers was 50.5%. The most significant risk factors associated with hypertension were education level (OR=2.4, 95% CI: 1.14, 4.88) and BMI (OR=2.7, 95% CI: 1.09, 6.67). Conclusion: The high prevalence of hypertension among the workers were contributed by low level of education and unhealthy BMI. Thus, intervention programs are needed to be initiated by the company to educate the workers along with regular health monitoring to counter this problem from getting more serious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Microplastic pollution in the environment has already been visible for years, yet exposure and risks to humans were underexplored. Human's risk perception regarding microplastic contamination was overlooked although a new study proved that microplastics existed in human blood. This study aimed to investigate the level of knowledge, perception, and practice towards microplastic contamination in human body and the associated sociodemographic factors among community in Ampang, Selangor. Methods: An observational analytic with cross-sectional study was conducted. Malaysian residents aged 18 and above were recruited by cluster sampling method. A validated and pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain the sociodemographic data, knowledge, perception and practice scores of 437 respondents. Questionnaires were distributed both physically and virtually. Results: The studied community obtained a high level of knowledge (51.0%), positive perception (39.8%) and moderate level of practice (44.2%) regarding microplastic contamination in humans. Age, education, marital and employment status were significantly correlated with all knowledge, perception and practice (p<0.05). Gender was highly associated with both perception and practice while income level and family history of disease were related to practice level only (p<0.05). Furthermore, practice level is significantly associated with both knowledge (X²=115.718, p<0.001) and perception (X²=140.850, p<0.001). Among all factors, perception is the main predictor of practice where people with neutral perception having poor practice is 52.8 times greater than the odds of people with positive perception. Conclusion: Among all factors studied, perception is the main predictor of practice in preventing microplastic contamination in the human body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work fatigue remains a prevalent issue among workers in shipyards, leading to detrimental effects on physical well-being, including a decline in body resistance and productivity. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship of age, nutritional status, working period, physical workload, noise, and lighting with fatigue levels among hull construction workers. This observational study used a cross-sectional approach with a total population of 112 individuals working in the production line of the Warship Division of a shipbuilding company. The sample size in this study was determined using stratified random sampling, resulting in an assembly of 53 samples. Proportionate stratified random sampling was then employed to determine the sample size for each subgroup of the population. The research data were analyzed using the Spearman correlation test (p<0.005). This study found a significant relationship between work fatigue and nutritional status (p=0.000), with a moderately positive relationship (r=0.511). Additionally, there was a significant relationship between work fatigue and physical workload (p=0.000), with a moderately positive relationship (r=0.531). Noise and work fatigue showed a significant relationship (p=0.010), with a weak positive relationship (r=0.353). Lighting and work fatigue showed a significant relationship as well (p=0.000), but with a moderately negative relationship (r=-0.524). On the other hand, work fatigue did not exhibit any significant relationship with age (p=0.129) or working period (p=0.651). This study establishes a relationship between work fatigue and numerous factors, including nutritional status, physical workload, noise, and lighting. However, age and working period are not related to work fatigue. Thus, it is recommended that companies align job requirements with employees' work capacity and conduct regular assessments of noise and lighting conditions to mitigate work-related fatigue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor air pollutants affect children's health and previous research mostly focuses on respiratory and allergic diseases. However, little is known about the risks among school children in East Malaysia. Therefore, we studied associations between school children's respiratory and allergic symptoms and indoor air pollutants in schools in Sabah, Malaysia. We randomly selected 332 school children (14 years old) from 24 classrooms in 6 secondary schools in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Information on personal characteristics, respiratory and allergic symptoms were gathered by using a standard questionnaire. The skin prick test was used to characterize their atopy. In each classroom, the indoor concentrations of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), formaldehyde, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), carbon dioxide (CO2) temperature and relative humidity were monitored. Overall, 11.7% reported doctor-diagnosed asthma, 14.8% wheezing, 17.5% day-time breathlessness, 37.0% breathlessness after exercise, 13.0% breathlessness at night-time, 55.1% rhinitis and 10.8% skin allergic in the last 12 months. Regression analysis showed that the onset of wheezing was common in doctor-diagnosed asthma (OR= 8.29, 95% CI= 3.70-16.10) and with parental asthma/allergy (OR= 2.13, 95% CI= 1.10-4.15), and associated with concentrations of NO2 (OR= 1.03, 95% CI= 1.01-1.21) and CO2 (OR= 1.01, 95% CI= 1.01-1.11). Day-time breathlessness was associated with indoor NO2 (OR=1.02, 95% CI= 1.02-1.35) and TVOC (OR= 1.30, 95% CI= 1.10-1.52). The indoor concentrations of NO2, CO2, TVOC and PM2.5 as well as parental asthma/allergy, and parental smoking were risk factors to the health outcome of respiratory and allergic symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes polymorphisms have been widely studied whereby the absence of these genes in afflicted individuals may contribute to the risk of environment-related cancer or diseases. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the prevalence of GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphism in pregnant women, who are susceptible to clinical disease during pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and others. Methods: Blood samples were obtained on a voluntary basis. A total of 215 healthy pregnant women were recruited and their blood samples were obtained to analyse the presence of both genes, with the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method used to simultaneously amplify the genes. Results: The prevalence of individuals with GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes were 148 (69%) and 82 (38%) respectively, and 58 (27%) were having homozygous null genotype for both the genes GSTM1 and GSTT1 simultaneously. The studied population was compared with reported prevalence from other worldwide populations, as well as with those from other ethnic groups; Caucasian and Asians. The prevalence of homozygous null GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotype are significantly higher in the study population as compared to Caucasians and other Asians. Conclusion: As a conclusion, pregnant women with the genetic susceptibility were at a higher risk of clinical diseases and this data provide basis for future epidemiological studies which related to genetic variation. The limitation of this study was the lack of participation from non-Malay. Race factor is suggested to be considered in understanding the underlying role of studied genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Heavy metals exposure through the consumption of seafood are an environmental issue of concern. Biomonitoring of whole blood heavy metals concentration give an insight on the total internal body burden. The level of heavy metals of an individual are interrelated to the genetic polymorphism of glutathione S-tranferases (GSTs). This study aims to determine the association between blood arsenic (BAs), blood cadmium (BCd) and blood lead (BPb) concentration as reported in previous report and polymorphic variants of GST genes. Methods: Sixty three adult respondents were recruited along the coastal area of Melaka through purposive sampling in February 2016. Blood samples were collected through venipuncture procedure by certified personnel in EDTA tubes. The inductively coupled plasma- mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) instrumentation was used to analyse the blood heavy metals concentration. DNA was extracted from the whole blood samples. The polymorphic variants of GSTM1 and GSTT1 were analysed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and polymorphic variants of GSTP1 were analysed by polymerase chain reaction- restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results: The BAs, BCd and BPb median (IQR) concentrations detected were 0.076 (0.059 -- 0.107), 1.204 (0.670 -- 2.094) and 0.076 (0.038-0.138) (µg/L) respectively. The prevalence of genetic polymorphism in GSTM1 and GSTT1 of 63.5% and 38.1% were observed. The number of respondents who have both deleted genes for GSTM1 and GSTT1 was 17 (27%). The frequency of genetic polymorphism in GSTP1 was 55.5%, in which 29 (46.0%) of the respondents were having the heterozygous (Ile/Val) polymorphism while the other 6 (9.5%) respondents were having the homozygous mutant (Val/Val). Conclusion: The polymorphic GST gene variations were not statistically linked to heavy metal concentrations. Respondents with the Val/Val genotype in GSTP1 and both GSTM1 and GSTT1 deletions, had a greater median of BAs and BPb [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the prevalence and incidence of TB by focusing on its environmental risk factor in Malaysia. Databases search of Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Plus, MyJournal, Biblioteca Regional de Medicina (BIREME), BioMed Central (BMC) Public Health, Medline, Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux (CAB), EMBASE (Excerpta Medica dataBASE) OVID, and Web of Science (WoS) was performed, which include the article from 1st January 2008 until 31st August 2018 using medical subject heading (MeSH). Articles initially identified were screened for relevance. Out of 744 papers screened, nine eligible studies did meet our inclusion criteria. Prison and housing environments were evaluated for TB transmission in living environment, while the other factor was urbanization. However, not all association for these factors were statistically significant, thus assumed to be conflicting or weak to end up with a strong conclusion. Unsustainable indoor environment in high congregate setting and overcrowding remained as a challenge for TB infection in Malaysia. Risk factors for transmission of TB, specifically in high risk areas, should focus on the implementation of specialized program. Further research on health care environment, weather variability, and air pollution are urgently needed to improve the management of TB transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methylmercury (MeHg) is one type of mercury (Hg) species known to be very toxic to humans, especially pregnant women and their fetuses. This study aims to obtain and validate the optimum condition of liquid chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICP-MS) to test MeHg concentration. To date, there is limited research that is focused on the maternal blood MeHg samples using LC-ICPMS in Malaysia. Before analysis, collected blood (500 μL) was placed into a 15 mL polypropylene test tube, followed by the addition of extractant solution [0.10% (v/v) HCl + 0.05% (m/v) L-cysteine + 0.10% (v/v) 2-mercaptoethanol] to the sample and sonicated for 15 minutes. The MeHg level was detected from the sample solution using the LC with Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C18 (4.6 x 12.5 mm, 5 μm) (Agilent Technologies) guard column and analytical column (4.6 x 150 mm, 5 μm) and was quantified by using the ICP-MS. The recovery of MeHg was in the range of 106 to 112% with RSD of less than 10%, followed by the LOD and LOQ values of 0.216 and 0.766 μg/L, respectively. The MeHg appeared at a retention time of fewer than 5 minutes. The results reported that the median (IQR) of maternal blood MeHg level in Malaysian pregnant women was 1.70 (8.90) μg/L, which is 9.7% lower than the LOD value and 11.2% higher than the guideline value of 3.5 μg/L of MeHg in maternal blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Eating seafood has become a major health concern for many people due to the present of heavy metal especially cadmium (Cd). Cd can accumulate in the body and disrupt the normal cellular processes which will eventually lead to organ damage. This study aims to determine the seafood consumption pattern and blood cadmium (BCd) as well as the association between these two variables among respondents living along the coastal area of Melaka. Methods: Pretested questionnaires were used to collect background and food frequency intake from coastal villagers through convenient sampling method. Venous blood samples were analysed by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for BCd determination. Results: A total of 63 respondents who 54% were female with median age of 34 years old provided complete data in this study. The most frequently consumed seafood and its product were shrimp paste (31.5%) followed by mackerel (13.6%), hardtail-scad (6.2%), flatfish (4.5%) and fish ball (4.0). All blood samples showed the present of Cd with median (IQR) = 0.076 (0.1) µg/L and ranged between 0.007 to 1.284 µg/L. The finding showed no association between frequently consumed seafood and low BCd of the respondents. On the other hand, gender was found to be significantly associated with the BCd. Conclusion: Seafood consumption pattern was not significantly associated with BCd which suggests that frequent seafood consumption may not contribute much to BCd level among the respondents as well as it may indicates safe consumption of these seafood available in the study location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Accumulation of heavy metals through seafood consumption constitutes a significant potential threat to human health. Biomonitoring of whole blood heavy metals level gave an insight into the internal body burden to the exposure of heavy metals. The aims of this study were to assess the blood heavy metals (arsenic and lead) level among the coastal community of Melaka and to determine their association with sociodemographic background and potential sources of heavy metals accumulation. Methods: Respondents were recruited through purposive sampling technique based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The questionnaires were distributed to obtain sociodemographic information, the frequency of seafood intake and smoking habit. Blood samples were obtained on a voluntary basis. A total of 63 respondents completed all the information required. The heavy metals concentration in blood was determined by inductively coupled plasma- mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results: The blood arsenic (BAs) concentration of respondents was 0.076 (0.059 - 0.107) µg/L and the blood lead (BPb) concentration of respondents was 1.204 (0.670 - 2.094) µg/L respectively. A significant association was observed between seafood-based product frequency intake and BPb concentration (p < 0.05). Other seafood frequency intake and background factors were not significantly associated with the BAs and BPb concentration of respondents. Conclusion: The findings showed that arsenic and lead levels in the blood of respondents along the coastal area of Melaka did not exceed the blood heavy metals reference levels and there was also lack of associations between blood heavy metals concentration and the potential factors of heavy metals accumulation studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instant noodles had been found to be contaminated with heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As). This study aims to determine the heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As) concentration in popular instant noodles from Malaysian market. Seven different brands of commercially popular instant noodles were randomly sampled from the market. The samples were prepared by dry ashing method prior to analysis by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometer (ICP-MS). Results showed that all seven samples detected with heavy metals which the concentration for Pb in two samples exceeded the maximum permitted level of Malaysian Food Act and Regulation of 2 mg/kg. This finding indicated that instant noodle can be one the sources of chronic exposure to toxic heavy metals through food consumption which later might cause health effects. Instant noodles in Malaysian market need to be closely monitored to ensure the food quality and safety for consumption. Further study which focuses on the source of contamination as well as the health risk of consuming this contaminated noodles is strongly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The repeatedly heating cooking oil in preparation of fried food has become a main dietary habit among Malaysian which can cause health impacts on humans. The peroxide value (PV) can be applied to identify cooking oil's quality through the oxidative change that takes place in fats or oils. High peroxide value indicates bad quality of cooking oil. This research was conducted to identify the awareness and practice of repeatedly heating cooking oil among food premise operators and to determine the peroxide value in repeatedly heating cooking oil samples. Methods: A total of 124 food premise operators in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, participated in this research. A face-toface interview was carried out by using the structured questionnaire for data collection to obtain socio-demographics information as well as awareness and practice of repeatedly heating cooking oil among respondents. The peroxide values analysis was performed on five samples of respondent's most favourable brands of cooking oil by using iodometric titration method. Results: Majority of respondents had moderate awareness (53.2%) and practice (50.0%) level regarding repeatedly heating cooking oil. The PV analysis showed that the peroxide value begin to exceed the AOCS standard limit of 10 meqO2/kg following the 5th cycles of frying. Conclusion: Relevant actions need to be taken by the governmental food authorities to address this issue and ensure safe consumption of fried foods by consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Working as an online motorcycle taxi that spends extended periods in a hot environment increases the risk of dehydration and accidents if not mitigated by adequate fluid consumption. Additionally, excessive vehicle speed and fatigued driving increase the likelihood of being involved in an accident. This study aims to determine the significant relationship between water consumption, speed suitability, fatigue and the occurrence of accidents among online motorcycle taxi drivers. Methods: The study employed an observational cross-sectional approach with 110 online motorcycle taxi drivers in Sidoarjo. Data on water consumption, speed suitability, accidents were collected via a Google form, while fatigue was assessed with the Subjective Rating Test Questionnaire. Statistical analysis used Cramer’s V to link water consumption with accidents and the contingency coefficient test to examine speed suitability, fatigue, and accidents. Results: The results of the analysis indicate a positive relationship with a weak relationship between water consumption (r = 0.227) and speed suitability (CI = 0.220) and the occurrence of accidents, as well as a strong relationship and positive relationship between fatigue (CI = 0.289) and the occurrence of accidents among online motorcycle taxi drivers. Conclusion: There is a relationship between water consumption, speed suitability, fatigue, and accidents among online motorcycle taxi drivers. Fatigue notably strongly correlates with accidents. Drivers are urged to avoid exceeding 8-hour workdays or driving while fatigued (e.g., drowsy, uncomfortable, in pain). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early prediction of tuberculosis (TB) cases is very crucial for its prevention and control. This study aims to predict the number of TB cases in Gombak based on sociodemographic and environmental factors., Methods: The sociodemographic data of 3325 TB cases from January 2013 to December 2017 in Gombak district were collected from the MyTB web and TB Information System database. Environmental data were obtained from the Department of Environment, Malaysia; Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia; and Malaysian Metrological Department from July 2012 to December 2017. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN) were used to develop the prediction model of TB cases. The models that used sociodemographic variables as the input datasets were referred as MLR1 and ANN1, whereas environmental variables were represented as MLR2 and ANN2 and both sociodemographic and environmental variables together were indicated as MLR3 and ANN3., Results: The ANN was found to be superior to MLR with higher adjusted coefficient of determination (R 2 ) values in predicting TB cases; the ranges were from 0.35 to 0.47 compared to 0.07 to 0.14, respectively. The best TB prediction model, that is, ANN3 was derived from nationality, residency, income status, CO, NO 2 , SO 2 , PM 10 , rainfall, temperature, and atmospheric pressure, with the highest adjusted R 2 value of 0.47, errors below 6, and accuracies above 96%., Conclusions: It is envisaged that the application of the ANN algorithm based on both sociodemographic and environmental factors may enable a more accurate modeling for predicting TB cases., Competing Interests: None