A cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practices concerning dengue and its vector Aedes mosquito among selected rural communities in the Kuala Kangsar district from 16-25th June, 2002. It was found that the knowledge of the community was good. Out of the 200 respondents, 82.0% cited that their main source of information on dengue was from television/radio. The respondents' attitude was found to be good and most of them were supportive of Aedes control measures. There is a significant association found between knowledge of dengue and attitude towards Aedes control (p = 0.047). It was also found that good knowledge does not necessarily lead to good practice. This is most likely due to certain practices like water storage for domestic use, which is deeply ingrained in the community. Mass media is an important means of conveying health messages to the public even among the rural population, thus research and development of educational strategies designed to improve behaviour and practice of effective control measures among the villagers are recommended.

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Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is defined as a cluster of known disorders that increase the risk for morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This cross sectional study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of MetS using Adult Treatment Panel 3 (ATP 3) classification and socio-demographic and lifestyle factors contributing to metabolic syndrome among rural indigenous Malaysian population from Perak state, Malaysia which included 148 rural Malay and 145 Orang Asli(OA) individuals. This community based cross-sectional study revealed that the prevalence of MetS was significantly higher among Malays (27.7%) as compared to Orang Aslis (13.8%). Overall Prevalence of Metabolic syndrome in the rural indigenous Malaysian population was 20.8%. Prevalence of abdominal obesity and high blood pressure were significantly higher among Malays as compared to OA population. Metabolic syndrome was significantly higher among those above 45 years of age group in overall rural indigenous Malaysian population and among OA. The prevalence of MetS was significantly higher among those who were obese and overweight and among Malays who were regularly taking snacks between meals. There was no significant association between other dietary risk factors, smoking, alcohol use or physical activity with metabolic syndrome.

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Chinese and Indian women used alternative medicine in prevention and treatment of menopause-related problems even as they were avoiding HRT because of the fear of side effects. They believed that their supplements were effective, safe and cost-beneficial even with long-term use.

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