Background: Globally, a lower income is associated with poorer health status and reduced quality of life (QOL). However, more research is needed on how being older may influence QOL in lower-income households, particularly as older age is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases and care needs. To this end, the current study attempts to determine the health-related QOL (HRQOL) among individuals from lower-income households aged 60 years and over compared to lower-income adults aged less than 60 years. Methods: Participants were identified from the Department of Statistics Malaysia sampling frame. Surveys were carried out with individual households aged 18 years and older through self-administered questionnaires. Information was collected on demographics, household income, employment status, number of diseases, and HRQOL assessed using the EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) tool. Results: Out of a total of 1899 participants, 620 (32.6%) were female and 328 (17.3%) were aged 60 years and above. The mean (SD) age was 45.2 (14.1) and mean (SD) household income was RM2124 (1356). Compared with younger individuals, older respondents were more likely to experience difficulties in mobility (32.1% vs 9.7%, p<0.001), self-care (11.6% vs 3.8%, p<0.001), usual activities (24.5% vs 9.1%, p<0.001), pain/discomfort (38.8% vs 16.5%, p<0.001) and anxiety/depression (21.4% vs 13.5%, p<0.001). The mean (SD) EQ-5D index scores were lower among older respondents, 0.89 (0.16) vs 0.95 (0.13), p = 0.001. After adjusting for covariates, age was a significant influencing factor (p = 0.001) for mobility (OR = 2.038, 95% CI:1.439–2.885), usual activities (OR = 1.957, 95% CI:1.353–2.832) and pain or discomfort (OR = 2.241, 95% CI:1.690–2.972). Conclusion: Lower-income older adults had poorer HRQOL compared to their younger counterparts. This has important implications concerning intervention strategies that incorporate active ageing concepts on an individual and policy-making level to enhance the QOL and wellbeing, particularly among the older lower-income population.

### Programme card #### Settings #### Target population #### What modes/types/domains of physical activity does the programme promote? #### Which of the seven best investments does the programme address? #### What sectors does it involve? #### What is special about this programme? #### Key programme details and contacts Although a child’s physical development is inseparable from his or her cognitive development, the Malaysian education system prioritises academic achievement over physical development. Malaysian children and adolescents engage in low levels of physical activity.1 As in many countries, there is a need to increase physical activity among Malay adolescent communities in Malaysia. To achieve this, the Global Community Health2 (GCH) and HOPSports3 introduced Brain BreaksPhysical Activity Solutions …

Brain breaks is a physical activity (PA) video designed for school settings that is used to stimulate student’s health and learning. The purpose of this study is to measure the effects of brain breaks on motives of participation in PA among primary school children in Malaysia. Purposive sampling was used to divide 159 male and 176 female students aged 10 to 11 years old, mean (standard deviation (SD)) = 10.51 (0.50), from two schools in Kelantan, Malaysia into intervention (n = 183) and control (n = 152) groups. Students undertook brain breaks activities on school days (five minutes per session) spread out for a period of four months. Mixed factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the students’ motives of participation in PA for pre-, mid-, and post-tests using the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale-Youth-Malay (PALMS-Y-M). Mixed factorial ANOVA showed significant changes in enjoyment, F(2, 392) = 8.720, p-value (η_p²) = 0.001 (0.043); competitiveness, F(2, 195) = 4.364, p-value (η_p²) = 0.014 (0.043); appearance, F(2, 392) = 5.709, p-value (η_p²) = 0.004 (0.028); and psychological condition, F(2, 392) = 4.376, p-value (η_p²) = 0.013 (0.022), whereas mastery, affiliation, and physical condition were not significant (p < 0.05). Further post-hoc analysis revealed a significant downward trend in the control group (p < 0.05). Brain breaks is successful in maintaining students’ motives for PA in four of the seven factors.

AIM: Physical activity is known for its benefits to improve cognitive functions such as sustained attention. The study aimed to conduct a systematic review on the effects of physical activity on sustained attention. METHODS: Literature search was conducted using databases from Scopus, PubMed, ResearchGate, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. The date of these published articles ranged from January 2010 to August 2018. RESULTS: A total of thirteen studies using the longitudinal design was selected to be part of this review. Most studies showed positive relationships between physical activity and sustained attention. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies may consider a longitudinal study design to study the effect of physical activity on sustained attention in prolonged time; as well as the corresponding affect with gender, age, motivation and to investigate the relationship between physical activities together with other possible factors that can indirectly affect sustained attention.

Brain Breaks Physical Activity Solutions (BBPAS) is a web-based structured physical activity (PA) video that is specifically designed for school settings and can stimulate a student’s health and learning. The purpose of this study is to measure the effect of BBPAS on the stages of change, decisional balance, processes of change, self-efficacy and leisure-time exercise among Malay ethnic primary school children. A validated Malay version of three of the five constructs was derived with sound validity and was used in the present study. A total of 159 male and 163 female children aged 10 to 11 years old, mean (SD) = 10.53 (0.50), were recruited from two schools in Kelantan, Malaysia. Purposive sampling was used to divide the children into intervention (n = 177) and control (n = 145) groups. Children in the intervention group underwent BBPAS activity for an accumulated 30 min per week, while children in the control group were not involved in the BBPAS intervention. Mixed factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the effect of BBPAS on the study variables. A mixed ANOVA showed significant changes (time effect) on cognitive process, F(1, 320) = 5.768, p-value = 0.017; behavioural process, F(1, 313) = 5.736, p-value = 0.017; and internal feeling, F(1, 312) = 6.050, p-value = 0.014. There was also a significant difference between groups on cons, F(1, 316) = 7.504, p-value = 0.007. A significant interaction effect was observed for stages of change, F(1, 319) = 7.861, p-value = 0.005; pros, F(1, 316) = 31.311, p-value = 0.001; internal feeling, F(1, 312) = 4.692, p-value = 0.031; and behavioural process, F(1, 313) = 7.312, p-value = 0.007. In conclusion, BBPAS was successful in improving four of the five constructs, and thus, should be recommended to be used in schools throughout Malaysia.

Mental illness is rising worldwide and is more prevalent among the older population. Among others, socioeconomic status, particularly income, has a bearing on the prevalence of mental health. However, little is known about the underlying mechanism that explains the association between income and mental health. Hence, this study seeks to examine the mediating effect of social capital on the association between income and mental illness. Cross-sectional data consisting of 6651 respondents aged 55 years and above were used in this study. A validated tool known as the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, 21 items (DASS-21) was applied to examine mental illness, namely depression, anxiety, and stress. The Karlson, Holm, and Breen (KHB) method was employed to assess the intervening role of social capital on the association between income and mental illness. Results showed that those who disagreed in trust within the community had the highest partial mediation percentage. Those who disagreed in reciprocity, however, had the lowest partial mediation percentage, which explained the positive association between the middle 40% (M40) of the income group and depression, anxiety, and stress. Overall, the study suggests the need to increase trust and attachment within society to curb the occurrence of depression and anxiety.