Reliability of Self-Administered Questionnaire on Dietary Supplement Consumption in Malaysian Adolescents

Development of self-administered questionnaire on barriers, prescription practices, and guideline adherence of osteoporosis management among tertiary care clinicians: content validity and reliability analysis

Objective

This study outlined the development of the barriers, prescribing practices, and guideline adherence for osteoporosis management according to the Clinicians' Osteoporosis Questionnaire (COQ) followed by an assessment of the content validity index and reliability test.

Methods

The development of the COQ was performed in two stages. Stage I involved the development of the COQ, and stage II involved judgmental evidence and quantification of the questionnaire. Five panel experts related to the study area and five clinicians participated in the validity of the COQ assessment. Fifty clinicians took part in the reliability test evaluation by filling out the questionnaire twice at 2-week intervals. The content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) were analyzed using Microsoft Excel, while Cohen's kappa statistic was used to determine the test-retest reliability using SPSS version 29.

Results

Forty items and three domains, namely, barriers, prescribing practices, and guideline adherence for osteoporosis management, were identified in the COQ (version 4.0). The scale-level CVI (S-CVI/Ave) for every domain was above 0.9, which is considered acceptable. The CVRs for all the items were above 0.7, except for two items in the barrier domain and two items in the guideline adherence domain. Two items were revised to improve the clarity of the item, and other items were retained based on consensus among the expert panel. Between the test and retest, the reliability of individual items ranged from moderate to almost perfect for the barrier domain (k = 0.42-0.86), prescribing practice domain (k = 0.79-0.87), and guideline adherence domain (k = 0.46-1). None of the items had "fair" or "poor" agreement. Thus, the 40-item COQ (version 4.0) was finalized following the content and face validity analysis.

Conclusions

Through an iterative process, the development and assessment of the COQ showed a high degree of content validity and reliability in measuring the barriers, prescribing practices, and guideline adherence among clinicians managing osteoporosis. Future studies should aim to further validate this instrument across different populations and settings, as well as explore methods to enhance its reliability and validity.

Quality of energy intake in Malaysian adolescents: prevalence, characteristics, determinants and impact of implausible reporters

OBJECTIVE

Misreporting of energy intake (EI) in nutritional epidemiology is common and even severe among adolescents. Thus, the current study aims to examine the presence, bias and impact introduced by implausible reporters.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

SETTING

Central and eastern regions of Peninsular Malaysia.

PARTICIPANTS

A stratified random sampling was employed to select 917 secondary school-going adolescents (aged 15-17 years).

RESULTS

The prevalence of under-reporters was 17·4 %, while no over-reporters were identified. Under-reporters had higher body composition and lower dietary intakes (except for vitamin C, Cr and Fl) compared with plausible reporters (P < 0·05). Adolescents with overweight and obesity had a higher odds of under-reporting compared with under-/normal weight adolescents (P < 0·001). In model 3, the highest regression coefficient (R2 = 0·404, P < 0·001) was obtained after adjusting for reporting status.

CONCLUSIONS

Overweight and obese adolescents were more likely to under-report their food intake and consequently affect nutrient intakes estimates. Future analyses that include nutrient intake data should adjust for reporting status so that the impact of misreporting on study outcomes can be conceded and consequently improve the accuracy of dietary-related results.

Lifestyle indices of body composition and obesity risk and prevalence among multi-ethnic adolescents in Malaysia

The prevalence of childhood obesity in Malaysia has doubled in less than a decade. Moreover, being overweight and obese have been associated with immediate and later comorbidities, thus emphasizing the need to prevent obesity from an early age. This cross-sectional study involved 923 multi-ethnic Malaysian adolescents aged between 15 and 17 years old. Body composition was estimated using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Body mass index (BMI) classification was based on the World Health Organization (WHO) growth reference and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-off. Meanwhile, the Child Growth Foundation (CGF) body fat reference was used to classify adolescents' adiposity. Lifestyle indices including physical activity, sedentary behavior, supplement intake, smoking and alcohol status were assessed via questionnaires. A high prevalence of overweight/obesity among the adolescents was observed according to the CGF (26%), followed by that of the WHO (24%) and then the IOTF (23%) cut-off, with high concordance values between each pair. After adjustment, a significant association was found between physical activity (PAQ score) and lean mass (p = 0.027). No lifestyle determinant was found to be a significant predictor of fat percentage. A high sedentary level increased the likelihood of obesity (OR 3.0, p < 0.01), while antioxidant-rich supplements were found to protect against obesity (OR 0.4, p < 0.05). The lifestyle predictors identified in this study may be considered when designing interventions that integrate lifestyle modifications targeting adolescents.

Factors That Influence the Use of Dietary Supplements among the Students of Wroclaw Medical University in Poland during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background and aim: The use of dietary supplements (DS) and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs is increasing every year. The COVID-19 pandemic might additionally influence the use of such preparations. The study aimed to investigate factors influencing the use of dietary supplements (DS), including stress-relieving supplements, by the students. Methods: In the cross-sectional study, 624 students of the Wroclaw Medical University in Poland, from the second to the last year of studies, completed the anonymous questionnaire, consisting of 22 items, about the use of DS/OTC drugs during the academic year 2020/2021. Obtained data were analyzed using Pearson’s chi-square test, the U-Mann Whitney test, the Kruskal–Wallis test with the post-hoc analysis, and with logistic regression. Results: About 70% of students declared the use of any DS, 33% used DS for stress, anxiety, depression, or sleeping problems, and 59% used other DS. The most important factors influencing the decision to take any kind of DS were Division (p = 0.0001, odds ratio [OR]: 0.35, and confidence interval [CI]: 0.21–0.59), a self-estimated level of stress (p = 0.014, OR: 1.13, CI: 1.03–1.25), and self-estimated level of knowledge about DS (p = 0.0000, OR: 1.31, CI: 1.19–1.36). In the case of students taking DS for stress, anxiety, depression, or sleeping problems, the level of stress and the declared knowledge had the greatest impact on the decision for such a use of DS (p = 0.0001, OD: 1.24, CI: 1.11–1.39 and p = 0.0000, OD: 1.35, CI: 1.22–1.5, respectively). The COVID-19 pandemic did not change the pattern of DS/OTC drug usage in about 33% of students. Those who started taking DS during the pandemic accounted for 19% of all students. Conclusions: The use of DS is common among Wroclaw Medical University students with some differences between subgroups of respondents. Additionally, despite declared good knowledge about DS, most students declare the need to learn more about them.