Obesity is a rising concern globally. This study investigated the prevalence and factors associat... more Obesity is a rising concern globally. This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with obesity and abdominal obesity (AO) among 5613 Malaysians aged 40 years and older via computer-assisted personal interviewing and anthropometric measurements. Obesity and AO prevalence were 37.8% and 63.1%, respectively. Significant associations were observed between: obesity with higher risk in patients aged between 40 and 49 years, Indians, females, income ≥RM 2000, and health status, and AO with higher risk in patients aged between 50 and 59 years, Indians, females, never married, income ≥RM 2000, and vigorous physical activity. Hence, age, sex, income, and ethnicity are associated with both obesity and AO. Promoting healthy body mass index and waist circumference is essential for healthy ageing.
International Journal for Studies on Children, Women, Elderly and Disabled, 2022
Loneliness is a growing public health and societal concern, its prevalence being more common and ... more Loneliness is a growing public health and societal concern, its prevalence being more common and at an elevated degree among older adults, imposing greater risk on cognitive function, psychosocial wellbeing, and quality of life. This study investigated the determinants of loneliness among mid-aged and older adults in Malaysia. Data were obtained from the Malaysia Ageing and Retirement Survey (MARS) conducted in 2018-2019, a nationally representative sample consisting of 5613 respondents aged 40 years and over. Loneliness was measured using a 5-point Likert scale on a single self-rated statement about how often the respondents feel lonely which was grouped into a dichotomous variable, often feel lonely and rarely or never feel lonely. About 32% of the respondents reported they often experienced loneliness. Chi-square tests were performed on the experience of loneliness across socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, health conditions, family, and social connectedness, followed by logistic regression analysis incorporating these variables as possible predictors. The results showed that factors contributing to the likelihood of experiencing loneliness include being a female compared with male, ethnic Indian and other Bumiputera compared with Chinese, experience of feeling depressed and having diagnosed illnesses compared with respondents having no such experience and staying with other family members as opposed to living alone. In contrast, having a spouse, being more educated, being employed, having good self-reported health, good perceived family relationships and high social connectedness, and having young children living with the respondents were associated with significantly less likely to experience loneliness compared with their respective counterparts. The findings suggest the need for policies and strategies that would promote participation in the labour market, healthy living, strengthen family relationships and social connectedness. These factors are important considerations as the country is heading towards an aged population status.
This chapter examined the impact of an intervention program on the psychological wellbeing of inj... more This chapter examined the impact of an intervention program on the psychological wellbeing of injured workers. Data consisted of 4041 injured workers who were insured with Social Security Organization (SOCSO) and participated in the case management rehabilitation program from 2012 to 2015. Psychological well-being was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS) consisting of seven and three components, respectively. The assessments were conducted before commencement and after completion of rehabilitation. Results showed significant improvement in all 10 components of VAS and DASS. Workers registered higher scores on skills, career goals, independence, self-esteem, confidence, health condition and pain tolerance in the post-intervention assessment while significant reduction was observed in the level of depression, anxiety and stress. This improvement suggested the importance of a structured disability management program in enhancing the quality of life and motivation for workers to return to work.
The knowledge of equity style of PRS funds has benefited investors by mitigating the issue of asy... more The knowledge of equity style of PRS funds has benefited investors by mitigating the issue of asymmetric information between fund managers and investors. Using a return-based style analysis with PRS fund data from April 2013 to February 2015, our study found that: first, moderate funds have the highest degree of style of 61.31, followed by growth funds (52.37) and conservative funds (51.75). In other words, the fund managers of moderate funds practise more passive than active styles. Second, on average, conservative funds have the highest degree of selection (48.25) and lower degree of style. One would expect the opposite as conservative funds should act more like passive rather than active fund. Third, growth funds have higher degree of section (47.63) as compared to moderate funds. Fourth, conservative funds, as the name implies, have strong focus on the fixed income products rather than equity. Lastly, in terms of asset allocation to equity, on average, growth funds have higher a...
Eurasia journal of mathematics, science and technology education, 2021
Using Malaysia TIMSS 2015 data, this study examined the association between eighth grade students... more Using Malaysia TIMSS 2015 data, this study examined the association between eighth grade students’ science achievement and mathematics score and the determining factors of science achievement. A total of 9,726 students participated in TIMSS 2015 with an average score of 508.60 with standard deviation of 89.86 for science and 501.57 with standard deviation of 86.46 for mathematics. Correlation coefficient between composite science and mathematics score is 0.88. The result of the multiple regression analysis showed that being a male, always speaking the language of test at home, having educated parents, students liking and valuing science and mathematics scores had a significant positive effect on science achievement. In contrast, having access to an internet connection and having confidence in science were found to have a negative influence on science achievement.
SummaryThe aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of East Malaysian adolescents on sexual ... more SummaryThe aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of East Malaysian adolescents on sexual and reproductive health issues. Data were collected in March-July 2015 from 2858 adolescents aged 13-18 years from selected East Malaysian secondary schools using a self-administered questionnaire. Twelve items relating to sexual and reproductive health were used to measure respondents' knowledge based on their responses 'True', 'False' or 'Don't know', with the proportion of correct answers being the variable of interest. Cronbach's alpha for the twelve items was 0.761 and the mean knowledge score was 6.8. While the majority of the respondents knew that a woman can get pregnant if she has sex with a man and that HIV and AIDS can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, knowledge about Malaysia's abortion laws, that a woman can get pregnant if she has sex only once and that people with sexually transmitted infections may look healthy was poor. Ol...
The main aim of this article is to provide an overview of social security in Malaysia. The focus ... more The main aim of this article is to provide an overview of social security in Malaysia. The focus is on relevant services, players and databases in the country. The development of social security in Malaysia is captured in Malaysia’s Five Year Development plans with a twin goal of achieving good growth and equitable development. Hence, social security policies in the more recent development plans were part of the distribution policies. The study uses the ILO’s three-dimensional approach to social protection as a benchmark for analysis. The first dimension refers to the proactive measures to provide social assistance to the non-productive and productive groups in society by ensuring access to basic essential goods and services. The basic protection floor has improved over the years with programmes targeted at equitable development and inclusive growth as seen in the NEM and the 10th MP. The second dimension refers to the social insurance system to prevent or at least mitigate the impact of risks borne by society. The four main schemes such as pension for civil servants, the LTAT, the EPF, and SOCSO have contributed to a relatively higher score for Malaysia (same income group), in the Social Protection Index (SPI) introduced by the ADB (2003). However, post-1997 Asian Financial Crisis saw social security policies beginning to incorporate labour market programmes, the third dimension of the ILO’s framework which aims at promoting the potentials and opportunities for individuals to contribute positively to society. Several agencies that are accountable to different authorities are responsible for the programmes. Yet, there is no effective coordination; in other words, no supreme body to oversee the products of social security and to link them all to meet the national framework and policy. The absence of an overarching social policy is not helping either. All social protection service providers and government agencies collect data and information in order to support their own programmes. As a result, the single-user data collection remains isolated with no mega-database as an interface among social security providers.
Obesity is a rising concern globally. This study investigated the prevalence and factors associat... more Obesity is a rising concern globally. This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with obesity and abdominal obesity (AO) among 5613 Malaysians aged 40 years and older via computer-assisted personal interviewing and anthropometric measurements. Obesity and AO prevalence were 37.8% and 63.1%, respectively. Significant associations were observed between: obesity with higher risk in patients aged between 40 and 49 years, Indians, females, income ≥RM 2000, and health status, and AO with higher risk in patients aged between 50 and 59 years, Indians, females, never married, income ≥RM 2000, and vigorous physical activity. Hence, age, sex, income, and ethnicity are associated with both obesity and AO. Promoting healthy body mass index and waist circumference is essential for healthy ageing.
International Journal for Studies on Children, Women, Elderly and Disabled, 2022
Loneliness is a growing public health and societal concern, its prevalence being more common and ... more Loneliness is a growing public health and societal concern, its prevalence being more common and at an elevated degree among older adults, imposing greater risk on cognitive function, psychosocial wellbeing, and quality of life. This study investigated the determinants of loneliness among mid-aged and older adults in Malaysia. Data were obtained from the Malaysia Ageing and Retirement Survey (MARS) conducted in 2018-2019, a nationally representative sample consisting of 5613 respondents aged 40 years and over. Loneliness was measured using a 5-point Likert scale on a single self-rated statement about how often the respondents feel lonely which was grouped into a dichotomous variable, often feel lonely and rarely or never feel lonely. About 32% of the respondents reported they often experienced loneliness. Chi-square tests were performed on the experience of loneliness across socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, health conditions, family, and social connectedness, followed by logistic regression analysis incorporating these variables as possible predictors. The results showed that factors contributing to the likelihood of experiencing loneliness include being a female compared with male, ethnic Indian and other Bumiputera compared with Chinese, experience of feeling depressed and having diagnosed illnesses compared with respondents having no such experience and staying with other family members as opposed to living alone. In contrast, having a spouse, being more educated, being employed, having good self-reported health, good perceived family relationships and high social connectedness, and having young children living with the respondents were associated with significantly less likely to experience loneliness compared with their respective counterparts. The findings suggest the need for policies and strategies that would promote participation in the labour market, healthy living, strengthen family relationships and social connectedness. These factors are important considerations as the country is heading towards an aged population status.
This chapter examined the impact of an intervention program on the psychological wellbeing of inj... more This chapter examined the impact of an intervention program on the psychological wellbeing of injured workers. Data consisted of 4041 injured workers who were insured with Social Security Organization (SOCSO) and participated in the case management rehabilitation program from 2012 to 2015. Psychological well-being was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS) consisting of seven and three components, respectively. The assessments were conducted before commencement and after completion of rehabilitation. Results showed significant improvement in all 10 components of VAS and DASS. Workers registered higher scores on skills, career goals, independence, self-esteem, confidence, health condition and pain tolerance in the post-intervention assessment while significant reduction was observed in the level of depression, anxiety and stress. This improvement suggested the importance of a structured disability management program in enhancing the quality of life and motivation for workers to return to work.
The knowledge of equity style of PRS funds has benefited investors by mitigating the issue of asy... more The knowledge of equity style of PRS funds has benefited investors by mitigating the issue of asymmetric information between fund managers and investors. Using a return-based style analysis with PRS fund data from April 2013 to February 2015, our study found that: first, moderate funds have the highest degree of style of 61.31, followed by growth funds (52.37) and conservative funds (51.75). In other words, the fund managers of moderate funds practise more passive than active styles. Second, on average, conservative funds have the highest degree of selection (48.25) and lower degree of style. One would expect the opposite as conservative funds should act more like passive rather than active fund. Third, growth funds have higher degree of section (47.63) as compared to moderate funds. Fourth, conservative funds, as the name implies, have strong focus on the fixed income products rather than equity. Lastly, in terms of asset allocation to equity, on average, growth funds have higher a...
Eurasia journal of mathematics, science and technology education, 2021
Using Malaysia TIMSS 2015 data, this study examined the association between eighth grade students... more Using Malaysia TIMSS 2015 data, this study examined the association between eighth grade students’ science achievement and mathematics score and the determining factors of science achievement. A total of 9,726 students participated in TIMSS 2015 with an average score of 508.60 with standard deviation of 89.86 for science and 501.57 with standard deviation of 86.46 for mathematics. Correlation coefficient between composite science and mathematics score is 0.88. The result of the multiple regression analysis showed that being a male, always speaking the language of test at home, having educated parents, students liking and valuing science and mathematics scores had a significant positive effect on science achievement. In contrast, having access to an internet connection and having confidence in science were found to have a negative influence on science achievement.
SummaryThe aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of East Malaysian adolescents on sexual ... more SummaryThe aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of East Malaysian adolescents on sexual and reproductive health issues. Data were collected in March-July 2015 from 2858 adolescents aged 13-18 years from selected East Malaysian secondary schools using a self-administered questionnaire. Twelve items relating to sexual and reproductive health were used to measure respondents' knowledge based on their responses 'True', 'False' or 'Don't know', with the proportion of correct answers being the variable of interest. Cronbach's alpha for the twelve items was 0.761 and the mean knowledge score was 6.8. While the majority of the respondents knew that a woman can get pregnant if she has sex with a man and that HIV and AIDS can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, knowledge about Malaysia's abortion laws, that a woman can get pregnant if she has sex only once and that people with sexually transmitted infections may look healthy was poor. Ol...
The main aim of this article is to provide an overview of social security in Malaysia. The focus ... more The main aim of this article is to provide an overview of social security in Malaysia. The focus is on relevant services, players and databases in the country. The development of social security in Malaysia is captured in Malaysia’s Five Year Development plans with a twin goal of achieving good growth and equitable development. Hence, social security policies in the more recent development plans were part of the distribution policies. The study uses the ILO’s three-dimensional approach to social protection as a benchmark for analysis. The first dimension refers to the proactive measures to provide social assistance to the non-productive and productive groups in society by ensuring access to basic essential goods and services. The basic protection floor has improved over the years with programmes targeted at equitable development and inclusive growth as seen in the NEM and the 10th MP. The second dimension refers to the social insurance system to prevent or at least mitigate the impact of risks borne by society. The four main schemes such as pension for civil servants, the LTAT, the EPF, and SOCSO have contributed to a relatively higher score for Malaysia (same income group), in the Social Protection Index (SPI) introduced by the ADB (2003). However, post-1997 Asian Financial Crisis saw social security policies beginning to incorporate labour market programmes, the third dimension of the ILO’s framework which aims at promoting the potentials and opportunities for individuals to contribute positively to society. Several agencies that are accountable to different authorities are responsible for the programmes. Yet, there is no effective coordination; in other words, no supreme body to oversee the products of social security and to link them all to meet the national framework and policy. The absence of an overarching social policy is not helping either. All social protection service providers and government agencies collect data and information in order to support their own programmes. As a result, the single-user data collection remains isolated with no mega-database as an interface among social security providers.
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Papers by Lih Yoong Tan
abdominal obesity (AO) among 5613 Malaysians aged 40 years and older via computer-assisted personal interviewing
and anthropometric measurements. Obesity and AO prevalence were 37.8% and 63.1%, respectively. Significant
associations were observed between: obesity with higher risk in patients aged between 40 and 49 years, Indians,
females, income ≥RM 2000, and health status, and AO with higher risk in patients aged between 50 and 59 years,
Indians, females, never married, income ≥RM 2000, and vigorous physical activity. Hence, age, sex, income, and
ethnicity are associated with both obesity and AO. Promoting healthy body mass index and waist circumference is
essential for healthy ageing.
abdominal obesity (AO) among 5613 Malaysians aged 40 years and older via computer-assisted personal interviewing
and anthropometric measurements. Obesity and AO prevalence were 37.8% and 63.1%, respectively. Significant
associations were observed between: obesity with higher risk in patients aged between 40 and 49 years, Indians,
females, income ≥RM 2000, and health status, and AO with higher risk in patients aged between 50 and 59 years,
Indians, females, never married, income ≥RM 2000, and vigorous physical activity. Hence, age, sex, income, and
ethnicity are associated with both obesity and AO. Promoting healthy body mass index and waist circumference is
essential for healthy ageing.