Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) among school children in Java and Sumatra, Indonesia: associations with respiratory symptoms, house dust mite sensitization and the home environment.

Objective: To study associations between fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and asthma, airway symptoms, sensitization to common allergens, outdoor pollution and home environment among 380 students in eight junior high schools in two areas in Indonesia.

Methods: Data on health and home were collected by a face-to face interview before measuring FeNO and performing skin prick test against common allergens. Exploratory linear mixed and logistic regression models were employed.

Indoor metabolites and chemicals outperform microbiome in classifying childhood asthma and allergic rhinitis.

Indoor microorganisms impact asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR), but the associated microbial taxa often vary extensively due to climate and geographical variations. To provide more consistent environmental assessments, new perspectives on microbial exposure for asthma and AR are needed. Home dust from 97 cases (32 asthma alone, 37 AR alone, 28 comorbidity) and 52 age- and gender-matched controls in Shanghai, China, were analyzed using high-throughput shotgun metagenomic sequencing and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Drinking water quality status in Malaysia: a scoping review of occurrence, human health exposure, and potential needs.

Background: Like other countries, surface water degradation in Malaysia is linked with common global issues. Although different aspects of drinking water suitability have been examined, the overall understanding of drinking water quality in Malaysia is poor.

Objective: Hence, the present review aims to provide an understanding of drinking water (tap water, groundwater, gravity feed system) quality and its potential implications on policy, human health, and drinking water management law and identification of potential direction of future drinking water research and management needs in Malaysia.

Microbial Virulence Factors, Antimicrobial Resistance Genes, Metabolites, and Synthetic Chemicals in Cabins of Commercial Aircraft.

Passengers are at a higher risk of respiratory infections and chronic diseases due to microbial exposure in airline cabins. However, the presence of virulence factors (VFs), antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), metabolites, and chemicals are yet to be studied. To address this gap, we collected dust samples from the cabins of two airlines, one with textile seats (TSC) and one with leather seats (LSC), and analyzed the exposure using shotgun metagenomics and LC/MS.

Associations between environmental characteristics, high-resolution indoor microbiome, metabolome and allergic and non-allergic rhinitis symptoms for junior high school students.

Rhinitis is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases globally. Microbiome exposure affects the occurrence of rhinitis. However, previous studies did not differentiate allergic rhinitis (AR) and non-allergic rhinitis (NAR) in the microbial association analysis.

Arsenic in drinking water, hair, and prevalence of arsenicosis in Perak, Malaysia.

Arsenic is a carcinogen element that occurs naturally in our environment. Humans can be exposed to arsenic through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption. However, the most significant exposure pathway is oral ingestion.

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and respiratory symptoms in junior high school students in Penang, Malaysia: the role of household exposure.

We studied associations between fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), health and household exposure among school children (N = 348) in Penang, Malaysia. Multiple logistic regression and linear mixed models were applied. Overall, 46.

Fungi composition in settled dust associated with fractional exhaled nitric oxide in school children with asthma.

Fungi exposure has been significantly linked to respiratory illness. However, numerous fungi taxa that are potentially allergenic still undocumented and leave a barrier to establishing a clear connection between exposure and health risks. This study aimed to evaluate the association of fungi composition in settled dust with fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) levels among school children with doctor-diagnosed asthma.

Indoor microbiome, microbial and plant metabolites, chemical compounds, and asthma symptoms in junior high school students: a multicentre association study in Malaysia.

Background: Indoor microbial exposure is associated with asthma, but the health effects of indoor metabolites and chemicals have not been comprehensively assessed.

Methods: We collected classroom dust from 24 junior high schools in three geographically distanced areas in Malaysia (Johor Bahru, Terengganu and Penang), and conducted culture-independent high-throughput microbiome and untargeted metabolomics/chemical profiling.

Results: 1290 students were surveyed for asthma symptoms (wheeze).

A priority list of environmental health issues for Malaysia.

Objectives: Environmental risk factors contribute to 24% of the global burden of disease from all causes in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and to 23% of all global deaths. Malaysia being an advanced developing country, there is a need to prioritise environmental health issues to enable environmental health practitioners to focus on the most significant and urgent environmental health concerns.

Content: This project was undertaken by a Thematic Working Group on Environmental Health Experts (TWG 10) under the Malaysian National Environmental Health Action Plan.

Evaluation of the Relationship between Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) with Indoor PM, PM and NO in Suburban and Urban Schools.

Numerous epidemiological studies have evaluated the association of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and indoor air pollutants, but limited information available of the risks between schools located in suburban and urban areas. We therefore investigated the association of FeNO levels with indoor particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure in suburban and urban school areas.

Prediction of tuberculosis cases based on sociodemographic and environmental factors in gombak, Selangor, Malaysia: A comparative assessment of multiple linear regression and artificial neural network models.

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.

Environment as the risk factor for tuberculosis in Malaysia: a systematic review of the literature.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and incidence of TB by focusing on its environmental risk factor in Malaysia.

Content: 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.

Development of a web-geographical information system application for plotting tuberculosis cases.

In the last few decades, public health surveillance has increasingly applied statistical methods to analyze the spatial disease distributions. Nevertheless, contact tracing and follow up control measures for tuberculosis (TB) patients remain challenging because public health officers often lack the programming skills needed to utilize the software appropriately. This study aimed to develop a more user-friendly application by applying the CodeIgniter framework for server development, ArcGIS JavaScript for data display and a web application based on JavaScript and Hypertext Preprocessor to build the server's interface, while a webGIS technology was used for mapping.

Associations between the indoor microbiome, environmental characteristics and respiratory infections in junior high school students of Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Pathogens are commonly present in the human respiratory tract, but symptoms are varied among individuals. The interactions between pathogens, commensal microorganisms and host immune systems are important in shaping the susceptibility, development and severity of respiratory diseases. Compared to the extensive studies on the human microbiota, few studies reported the association between indoor microbiome exposure and respiratory infections.

Metagenomic characterization of indoor dust fungal associated with allergy and lung inflammation among school children.

The exposure of school children to indoor air pollutants has increased allergy and respiratory diseases. The objective of this study were to determine the toxicodynamic interaction of indoor pollutants exposure, biological and chemical with expression of adhesion molecules on eosinophil and neutrophil. A self-administered questionnaire, allergy skin test, and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) analyser were used to collect information on health status, sensitization to allergens and respiratory inflammation, respectively among school children at age of 14 years.

Association of sociodemographic and environmental factors with spatial distribution of tuberculosis cases in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia.

Tuberculosis (TB) cases have increased drastically over the last two decades and it remains as one of the deadliest infectious diseases in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study aimed to establish the spatial distribution of TB cases and its association with the sociodemographic and environmental factors in the Gombak district. The sociodemographic data of 3325 TB cases such as age, gender, race, nationality, country of origin, educational level, employment status, health care worker status, income status, residency, and smoking status from 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2017 in Gombak district were collected from the MyTB web and Tuberculosis Information System (TBIS) database at the Gombak District Health Office and Rawang Health Clinic.

COVID-19 Epidemic in Malaysia: Epidemic Progression, Challenges, and Response.

COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest communicable disease outbreak to have hit Malaysia since the 1918 Spanish Flu which killed 34,644 people or 1% of the population of the then British Malaya. In 1999, the Nipah virus outbreak killed 105 Malaysians, while the SARS outbreak of 2003 claimed only 2 lives. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has so far claimed over 100 Malaysian lives.

Asthma symptoms and respiratory infections in Malaysian students-associations with ethnicity and chemical exposure at home and school.

Little is known on respiratory effects of indoor chemicals in the tropics. We investigated associations between asthma and respiratory infections in Malaysian students and chemical exposure at home and at school. Moreover, we investigated differences in home environment between the three main ethnic groups in Malaysia (Malay, Chinese, Indian).

Association between indoor microbiome exposure and sick building syndrome (SBS) in junior high schools of Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a collection of nonspecific syndromes linked with the built environment. The occurrence of SBS is associated with humidity, ventilation, moulds and microbial compounds exposure. However, no study has reported the association between indoor microbiome and SBS.

The Effects of Indoor Pollutants Exposure on Allergy and Lung Inflammation: An Activation State of Neutrophils and Eosinophils in Sputum.

Background: To explore the inflammation phenotypes following indoor pollutants exposure based on marker expression on eosinophils and neutrophils with the application of chemometric analysis approaches.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken among secondary school students in eight suburban and urban schools in the district of Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia. The survey was completed by 96 students at the age of 14 by using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children (ISAAC) and European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) questionnaires.

Indoor microbiome, environmental characteristics and asthma among junior high school students in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Indoor microbial diversity and composition are suggested to affect the prevalence and severity of asthma by previous home microbiome studies, but no microbiome-health association study has been conducted in a school environment, especially in tropical countries. In this study, we collected floor dust and environmental characteristics from 21 classrooms, and health data related to asthma symptoms from 309 students, in junior high schools in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The bacterial and fungal composition was characterized by sequencing 16s rRNA gene and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, and the absolute microbial concentration was quantified by qPCR.

FeNO level and allergy status among school children in Terengganu, Malaysia.

: Almost one third of the world population suffers from allergic conditions. Respiratory symptoms are common in Malaysian children but there are few studies on fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), inclusive of field clinical test for asthma among children in Malaysia. The aim was to provide insight on factors related to level of FeNO among students in Terengganu, Malaysia.

The Impact of Heat on Health and Productivity among Maize Farmers in a Tropical Climate Area.

Background: Heat stress disorders may cause negative health outcome and subsequent productivity reduction especially in those who work under direct sunlight for an extended number of hours.

Objective: This study assessed the impact of heat on the health and productivity among maize farmers in a hot tropical country.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 396 maize farmers, randomly selected across Gombe province, Nigeria.