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BackgroundThe surrounding environment influences the constitution of illness perceptions. Therefore, local research is needed to examine how Libyan diabetes patients perceive diabetes and how their perceptions influence their medication adherence.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology in Tripoli, Libya, between October and December 2013. A total of 523 patients with type 2 diabetes participated in this study. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection; this included the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire and the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale.ResultsThe respondents showed moderately high personal control and treatment control perceptions and a moderate consequences perception. They reported a high perception of diabetes timeline as chronic and a moderate perception of the diabetes course as unstable. The most commonly perceived cause of diabetes was Allah's will. The prevalence of low medication adherence was 36.1%. The identified significant predictors of low medication adherence were the low treatment control perception (p=0.044), high diabetes identity perception (p=0.008), being male (p=0.026), and employed (p=0.008).ConclusionDiabetes illness perceptions of type 2 diabetic Libyans play a role in guiding the medication adherence and could be considered in the development of medication adherence promotion plans.

Introduction: Elderly is a vulnerable population that is prone for sarcopenia which is associated with the loss of muscle mass, strength and function which are one the diseases that affects elderly. Association between environmental factors with sarcopenia should be explored as it has the potential to influence the health and disability of a person. At present, limited research is conducted to investigate the association which could be attributed to the complex interaction between the human and environmental interactions. Hence this review is conducted to identify the environmental factors associated with sarcopenia. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science and manual search following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria. We used articles that have been written in English and relevant articles were then screened, duplicates were removed, eligibility criteria were applied, and studies that met the criteria were reviewed. The keywords environmental factors, pollutants food environment, neighbourhood environment, locality and sarcopenia were included. Results: Initial search generated 934 publications and 12 articles were included after inclusion and exclusion criteria for this review. In this review, environmental factors associated with sarcopenia are divided into 3 themes that comprises of food environment (availability and physical access, economic access and food quality and safety), neighbourhood environment and pollutants. Conclusion: This systematic review revealed association between the food environment, neighbourhood environment and pollutants with sarcopenia. The findings are salient as it could aid the the policy makers to formulate the necessary strategy to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with sarcopenia especially with the increase in ageing population globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: Community-based hypertension programs are available worldwide. This review aims to summarise the cost-effectiveness of these programs to prevent and control hypertension. Material and Methods: We searched through three databases of PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science in November 2020. Published articles from 2010 through 2020 were screened. The community-based prevention programs were categorised into four groups: self-monitoring, educational interventions directed to the patient, educational interventions directed to the health professional and health professional (nurse or pharmacist) led care. Results: Eleven articles were included in the final review. All 11 articles conducted the programs of education intervention directed towards patients, seven articles conducted programs that include both self-monitoring and health professional (nurse or pharmacist) led care and only two studies conducted programs of which the educational interventions directed to the health professional. Six studies reported as cost per mm Hg reduction in systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure (ranging $0.69-$235.7 per mm Hg reduction), two studies reported as cost per DALY averted (ranging $349-$582) and three studies reported as cost per QALY gained (ranging $1257 - $4219). Conclusion: All studies showed the programs to be cost-effective. This information could provide the evidence base to guide the initiation and development of hypertension programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and its associated factors among veterans who lived in the urban city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study using a face-to-face interview was conducted to obtain information on sociodemographic, behavioral activities, and health-related conditions. All participants underwent cognitive tests using the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-BM). Results: A total of 406 male veterans with a mean age of 61.5 years old participated in the study. The prevalence of MCI was 21.4%. A logistic regression model revealed that low physical activity (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 10.29), hypertension (aOR 2.22), lower education level (aOR 2.98), subjective memory difficulty (aOR 3.61), and subjective concentration difficulty (aOR 3.95) were associated with a higher likelihood of MCI. In addition, those aged 60 years and above, as well as those in the non-officer group, were associated with a higher risk for MCI with aOR 4.57 and 4.59 respectively. Conclusion: Inactivity and hypertension are preventable risk factors MCI. Therefore, military veterans must be encouraged to practice a physically active lifestyle after retirement to maintain a healthy cognitive level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]