Seasonal variation in food security, lifestyle, nutritional status and its associated factors of the urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: research protocol of a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Climate change, obesity and undernutrition have now become a worldwide syndemic that threatens most people's health and natural systems in the twenty-first century. Adolescent malnutrition appears to be a matter of concern in Malaysia, and this is particularly relevant among the urban poor population. Mounting evidence points to the fact that underlying factors of malnutrition are subject to climate variability and profoundly affect nutritional outcomes. Hence, it is interesting to examine seasonal variation in nutritional status and its associated factors of urban poor adolescents in Malaysia.

METHODS

This is a prospective cohort study following urban poor adolescents aged 10-17 years living in low-cost high-rise flats in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, across two monsoon seasons. The baseline assessment will be conducted during the onset of the Northeast Monsoon and followed up during Southwest Monsoon. Climate data will be collected by obtaining the climatological data (rainfall, temperature, and relative humidity) from Malaysia Meteorological Department. Geospatial data for food accessibility and availability, and also built (recreational facilities) environments, will be analyzed using the QGIS 3.4 Madeira software. Information on socio-demographic data, food security, lifestyle (diet and physical activity), and neighbourhood environment (food and built environment) will be collected using a self-administrative questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements, including weight, height, and waist circumference, will be conducted following WHO standardized protocol. WHO Anthro Plus was used to determine the height-for-age (HAZ) and BMI-for-age (BAZ). Anaemic status through biochemical analyses will be taken using HemoCue 201+® haemoglobinometer.

DISCUSSION

The study will provide insights into the seasonal effects in nutritional status and its associated factors of urban poor adolescents. These findings can be useful for relevant stakeholders, including policymakers and the government sector, in seizing context-specific strategies and policy opportunities that are seasonally sensitive, effective, and sustainable in addressing multiple challenges to combat all forms of malnutrition, especially among urban poor communities.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The protocol for this review has not been registered.

Microbiological quality of shellfish harvesting areas in the Ashtamudi and Vembanad estuaries (India): Environmental influences and compliance with international standards

The sources of microbiological contamination in shellfish harvesting areas in the Ashtamudi and Vembanad estuaries were identified through a sanitary survey. Samples of shellfish and waters were tested for faecal indicator bacteria. Both estuaries receive high levels of contamination from septic tank discharges and areas with high numbers of birds and livestock. An assessment to illustrate the classification status of the harvesting areas indicated that 64% of oyster and 58% of clam samples from Ashtamudi and 54% of mussel samples from Vembanad would comply with the lower class B standard of the EU classification system. Most water results would comply with the faecal coliform standard for 'Prohibited' areas under the US classification system. None of the water samples from Ashtamudi were below the standard for 'Approved' areas. Pollution reduction measures and implementation of a sanitation programme according to international best practice would improve consumer health protection.

Data on sea surface biophysical parameters during different monsoon seasons

The biophysical data presented in this article were collected in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia from May to November 2009. These monthly surface data were obtained from 32 stations along the coastal-offshore transect and were analyzed to understand the spatial and temporal distributions of biophysical parameters during different monsoon seasons. The data presented here include sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS), Secchi disk depth (SDD), Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), suspended particulate matter (SPM), mineral suspended solid (MSS) and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM).

Environmental risk factors and hotspot analysis of dengue distribution in Pakistan

This study is an attempt to find out the factors responsible for sudden dengue outbreak in different cities of Pakistan during 2011. For this purpose, spatio-temporal distribution of dengue in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi has been taken into account. According to the available data, the factors responsible for this spread includes climate covariates like rainfall, temperature, and wind speed; social covariates like population, and area of locality, and environmental risk factors like drainage pattern and geo-hydrological conditions. Reported dengue cases from localities and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 90 m digital elevation model (DEM) of study areas have been processed for hotspots, regression model and stream density in the localities of high dengue incidence. The relationship of daily dengue incidence with climate covariates during the months of July-October of the study year is analyzed. Results show that each dry spell of 2-4 days provides suitable conditions for the development and survival of dengue vectors during the wet months of July and August in the areas of high stream density and population. Very few cases have been reported in July while higher number of cases reported in the months of August, September, until late October. Hotspot analysis highlights the areas of high dengue incidence while regression analysis shows the relationship between the population and the areas of localities with the dengue incidence.