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Background High sodium intake was an established risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this study was to investigate factors associated with high sodium intake based on 24-h urinary sodium excretion from the MyCoSS study. Methods The cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults aged 18 years and above in Malaysia. A multi-stage stratified sampling was used to represent nationally. Twenty-four-hour urine was collected from a total of 900 respondents. Indirect ion-selective electrode (ISE) method was used to measure sodium intake. Descriptive and logistic regression analysis was applied to determine factors associated with high sodium intake based on 24-h urinary sodium excretion. Results A total of 798 respondents (76% response rate) completed the 24-h urine collection process. Logistic regression revealed that high sodium intake associated with obese [aOR 2.611 (95% CI 1.519, 4.488)], male [aOR 2.436 (95% CI 1.473, 4.030)], having a waist circumference of > 90cm for adult males [aOR 2.260 ( 95% CI 1.020, 5.009) and >80cm for adult females [aOR 1.210 (95% CI 0.556, 2.631)], being a young adult [aOR 1.977 (95% CI 1.094, 3.574)], and living in urban areas [aOR 1.701 (95% CI 1.094, 2.645)]. Conclusion Adults who are obese, have a large waist circumference, of male gender, living in urban areas, and belonging to the young adult age group were found to have higher sodium intake than other demographic groups. Hence, reduction of salt consumption among these high-risk groups should be emphasised to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

IntroductionElectronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is growing a public health concern because its present threats to tobacco control and undo the success achieved. E-cigarettes and vaping are seems to be in trend nowadays especially among adults regardless of the negative health impacts. This study aimed to investigates the current prevalence of e- cigarette users and its associated factors among adults aged 15 years and above in Malaysia. Materials and MethodsData from the National Health & Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019 conducted by Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health was analyzed. It is a cross sectional, population-based survey which employed a two-stage stratified cluster random sampling design to ensure national representativeness.Sample consisted of 11,111 respondents aged 15 years and above responded to the smoking module. Respondents were given structured questionaires via face to face interview. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used for analysis. Results and DiscussionThere was almost equal representation of male and female respondents from 11,111 respondents aged 15 years and older.The prevalence was significantly highest among Malay and others ethnicity (5.8%), younger age group 15-24 years (11.2%) ,private employee (7.3%) and among current smoker (15.5%).Current e-cigarette users were associated with male (aOR= 26.71;95% CI= 14.79, 48.23), 18 to 24 years old (aOR= 10.80; 95% CI= 7.22, 16.13), and current tobacco smoker (aOR=2.51, 95% CI=1.98, 3.17). From other study among university in students in Malaysia done by Sharifa et al, it showed that 74.9% of the students smoke and 40.3% were cigarrette smokers too.In 2011, a Global Adult Tobacco Survey was done in Malaysia and the current e-cigarettes user among adults at that time was 0.8% . The prevalence of smokeless tobacco products including e-cigarette use among adult in Malaysia was 10.9% but that was including other types of smokeless tobacco products . The current e-cigarettes smoker in Serbia was reported to be 2% which is lower than our national prevalence. ConclusionThis study showed that current using e-cigarettes are more frequently among smokers. Hence e-cigarette intervention strategies and policies should target at this high-prevalence group and urgent need in preventive strategies to protect younger adults and adolescent from this harmful exposure. &nbsp

BackgroundHypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Thus, it is an important public health challenge worldwide. In Malaysia, only a few studies have focused on the trends of hypertension specifically for the aging population. In view of the rapid growth of the elderly population in Malaysia, there is an urgent need to explore the condition of hypertension in this aging population. Hence, the objectives of this study were to determine the trends of population mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) levels, the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension, and its' associated factors among older persons in two cross-sectional national surveys that were conducted in 2006 and 2015 in Malaysia.MethodsThis was a subanalysis of secondary data collected from the two cross-sectional national population-based surveys conducted in Malaysia in 2006 and 2015. Adults aged 60 and older who had participated in these two surveys were included in the study.ResultsA total of 4954 (2295 males and 2659 females) and 3790 (1771 males and 2019 females) respondents completed the hypertension module surveys in 2006 and 2015, respectively. The mean age of the respondents was 68.5±6.9 years in 2006 and 68.6±7.1 years in 2015 and the difference was not significant. The prevalence of hypertension significantly reduced from 73.8% in 2006 to 69.2% in 2015 (pConclusionsThe mean population BP levels and hypertension prevalence among the elderly population in Malaysia have reduced significantly over the past decade. Although the awareness, treatment and control of hypertension among older adults have improved significantly, the awareness and control rates remain suboptimal. As population aging is inevitable, appropriate public health programs and optimal treatment strategies targeting this vulnerable group are urgently needed to improve the overall awareness and control of hypertension and to prevent hypertension-related complications.