Aiming towards better health

Prof John (front row, middle) with the speakers, participants and organising committee

UTAR’s Centre for Research on Non-communicable Diseases (CRNCD) organised a Wellness Seminar and Workshop at Sungai Long Campus on 30 Nov 2019 which saw the participation of more than 60 participants. Themed ‘Wellness Across the Ages’, the seminar aimed to expose the public on topics related to paediatrics, sports injuries, medicine, erectile dysfunction and geriatrics through talks by external speakers from various institutions. Sponsoring the event was Apex Healthcare Bhd.

Present at the seminar were Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Centre for Research on Non-Communicable Diseases Chairperson Prof Dr John Paul Evangel Judson, Organising Chairperson Tarun Amalnerkar, external speakers, lecturers, students and members of the public.

Dr Mohd Azri (left) and Dr Mohammad Shariff delivering their talk

Universiti Putra Malaysia Dr Mohd Azri bin Zainal Abidin presented the first talk titled “Prevention and Management of Allergies in Children” where he spoke about allergies and its causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment. Aside from that, Dr Azri explained to the participants about allergic march, primary and secondary prevention, breastfeeding and the intakes of complementary foods.

Dr Azri said, “Common allergies are asthma, allergic rhinitis, food allergy and urticaria. Allergy rhinitis affects ten to 30 per cent of the population while eczema affects 15 to 20 per cent of children and one to three per cent in adults. About 240 million to 550 million people around the world have food allergies and 300 million around the world has asthma.”

The second talk titled “Is it safe for me to exercise?” was presented by Universiti Malaya Assoc Prof Dr Mohammad Shariff bin A Hamid. In his talk, he spoke about the definition of physical activity, the concept of exercise, the prevalence of physical inactivity among Malaysian adults, musculoskeletal injury, risk reduction, pre-participation screening test, exercise recommendation for adults and progression of exercise.

He said, “Physical activity is defined by bodily movement produced by skeletal muscle. Physical activity is planned and structured, and repetitive bodily movement is done to improve and/or maintain one or more components of physical fitness. Due to our sedentary lifestyles, we are being exposed to adverse health effects, thus with regular physical activity and exercise, we are able to prevent and manage chronic diseases.”

Dr K. Shanggar (left) and Prof Tan sharing their knowledge to the participants

Universiti Malaya Specialist Centre Consultant Urologist Assoc Prof Dr K. Shanggar presented on “Erectile Dysfunction: Assessment and Management”. In the talk, he explained how to assess and treat erectile dysfunction, physiology of normal erection, mechanism of erection, diagnosis and treatment of erectile dysfunction.

“Erection is a complex event, requiring intact arterial and venous system, normal innervation, normal hormonal factors and functioning of the erectile tissue. Abnormalities in any of all of these will lead to erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction often occurs before other vascular diseases. The causes of erectile dysfunction could be either arteriogenic, neurogenic, psychogenic, endocrine or drugs. Erectile dysfunction can be identified and managed in the primary care setting, thus detection is the key. Treatment efficacy can be optimised by establishing its proper usage and pursuing risk-factor modification and vascular disease treatment.”

Universiti Malaya Prof Dr Tan Maw Pin presented his talk titled “Social Participation and Health in Older Adults”. In the talk, he spoke about the epidemiology of ageing, implications of demographic change, determinants of ill-health, social isolation and ill-health, social intervention for health as well as the statistics of Malaysia’s population pyramid.

Prof Tan said, “The number of old people being admitted to the hospital is increasing, especially those ~~are~~ above the age of 65, while the number of young people to take care of the elders is decreasing. Ischaemic heart disease was the principal cause of death for males while pneumonia was the principal cause of death for females.”

The seminar was continued with two hands-on workshops on “Erectile Dysfunction” by FMHS lecturers Tarun Amalnerkar and “Prevention of Sports Injuries” by Muhammad Noh Zulfikri bin Mohd Jamali assisted by Dr Ilayaraja Alagia Thiruvevenkadam.

Erectile Dysfunction workshop

Prevention of Sports Injuries workshop

Participants visiting the exhibition booth by Apex Healthcare Bhd

Q&A session among participants and speakers