IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i23p16371-d995463.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Health Complaints, Mental Status and Quality of Life among the Aquaculture Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Northern Region of Peninsular Malaysia

Author

Listed:
  • Nur Syafiqah Mat Zain

    (Food Technology Program, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor 11800, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia)

  • Lai Kuan Lee

    (Food Technology Program, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor 11800, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia)

Abstract

Aquaculture is seen as an essential food-producing sector for improving global food security and nutrition indices. This cross-sectional study examined the health complaints and mental health status of aquaculture workers, as well as their relationship with quality of life, with respect to the brackish water and freshwater aquaculture cultivation system in Penang, Malaysia. The workers’ health complaints were collected, and mental health status was evaluated as means of depression, anxiety, stress and self-esteem. Self-perceived quality of life was assessed using a structured questionnaire. This study involved the participation of 88 brackish water (84.6%) and 16 freshwater (15.4%) aquaculture workers. A total of 72.7% of the brackish water aquaculture workers were aged beyond 50 years old and had worked within five years (77.3%) in the aquaculture industry. Both brackish water and freshwater cultivation workers were confronted with fatigue, pain and insomnia. Up to 48%, 40.4%, 26% and 24% of them were facing depression, anxiety, stress and low self-esteem, respectively. A total of 3.4% of the brackish water aquaculture workers were having bad quality of life. The complaints of neck/shoulder/arm pain ( F = 13.963; p < 0.001), back pain ( F = 10.974; p < 0.01), hand/wrist pain ( F = 8.041; p < 0.01), knee/hip pain ( F = 12.910; p < 0.01) and insomnia ( F = 10.936; p < 0.01) were correlated with bad quality of life among the workers. For mental health status, self-esteem ( F = 4.157; p < 0.05) was found to be negatively correlated with quality of life scores. The results outlined the concerning level of health complaints and psychological distress among the aquaculture workers. The study emphasized the importance of developing an appropriate occupational health strategy in the aquaculture industry. Longitudinal investigations aimed to explore the effects of psychological distress on employment productivity among the high-risk workers are warranted.

Suggested Citation

  • Nur Syafiqah Mat Zain & Lai Kuan Lee, 2022. "Health Complaints, Mental Status and Quality of Life among the Aquaculture Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Northern Region of Peninsular Malaysia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:23:p:16371-:d:995463
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/23/16371/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/23/16371/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Béné, Christophe & Arthur, Robert & Norbury, Hannah & Allison, Edward H. & Beveridge, Malcolm & Bush, Simon & Campling, Liam & Leschen, Will & Little, David & Squires, Dale & Thilsted, Shakuntala H. &, 2016. "Contribution of Fisheries and Aquaculture to Food Security and Poverty Reduction: Assessing the Current Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 177-196.
    2. Małgorzata Szcześniak & Iga Bajkowska & Anna Czaprowska & Aleksandra Sileńska, 2022. "Adolescents’ Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction: Communication with Peers as a Mediator," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-13, March.
    3. Tiptiwa Sampantamit & Long Ho & Carl Lachat & Nantida Sutummawong & Patrick Sorgeloos & Peter Goethals, 2020. "Aquaculture Production and Its Environmental Sustainability in Thailand: Challenges and Potential Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-17, March.
    4. Dong Seok Shin & Byung Yong Jeong, 2022. "Older Female Farmers and Modeling of Occupational Hazards, Wellbeing, and Sleep-Related Problems on Musculoskeletal Pains," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-11, June.
    5. Ming-Shyan Lin & Yu-Chih Lin & Tung-Jung Huang & Mei-Yen Chen, 2022. "Health Inequality among Fishery Workers during Climate Change: A National Population-Based and Retrospective Longitudinal Cohort Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-11, August.
    6. Izyan A. Wahab & Khang Wen Goh & Zainol Akbar Zainal & Najlaa Siham Mohamed Yusof & Hasniza Zaman Huri & Sabrina Anne Jacob & Muhammad Najib Mohamad Alwi & Rosnani Hashim & Shairyzah Ahmad Hisham & Nu, 2022. "Targeted Primary and Secondary Preventive Strategies for Depression among Malaysian Pharmacy Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-14, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Jiaxin & Wang, Zihan & Cheng, Xin & Shuai, Jing & Shuai, Chuanmin & Liu, Jing, 2020. "Has solar PV achieved the national poverty alleviation goals? Empirical evidence from the performances of 52 villages in rural China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    2. Duncan, Nicolette & de Silva, Sanjiv & Conallin, John & Freed, Sarah & Akester, Michael & Baumgartner, Lee & McCartney, Matthew & Dubois, Mark & Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali, 2021. "Fish for whom?: Integrating the management of social complexities into technical investments for inclusive, multi-functional irrigation," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 22(C).
    3. Naylor, Rosamond & Fang, Safari & Fanzo, Jessica, 2023. "A global view of aquaculture policy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    4. Gregory Nguh Muluh & Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi & Ngwa Kester Azibo, 2019. "Challenges and Prospects of Sustaining Donor-Funded Projects in Rural Cameroon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-25, December.
    5. Moses Majid Limuwa & Wales Singini & Trond Storebakken, 2018. "Is Fish Farming an Illusion for Lake Malawi Riparian Communities under Environmental Changes?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-23, May.
    6. Puteri Nur Atiqah Bandira & Mohd Amirul Mahamud & Narimah Samat & Mou Leong Tan & Ngai Weng Chan, 2021. "GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Evaluation for Potential Inland Aquaculture Site Selection in the George Town Conurbation, Malaysia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-18, November.
    7. Erick Arturo Betanzo-Torres & María de los Ángeles Piñar-Álvarez & Celia Gabriela Sierra-Carmona & Luis Enrique García Santamaria & Cecilia-Irene Loeza-Mejía & José Luis Marín-Muñiz & Luis Carlos Sand, 2021. "Proposal of Ecotechnologies for Tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) Production in Mexico: Economic, Environmental, and Social Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-18, June.
    8. Filipski, Mateusz & Belton, Ben, 2018. "Give a Man a Fishpond: Modeling the Impacts of Aquaculture in the Rural Economy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 205-223.
    9. Claudio Rafael Mariano Baigún & Priscilla Gail Minotti, 2021. "Conserving the Paraguay-Paraná Fluvial Corridor in the XXI Century: Conflicts, Threats, and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-28, May.
    10. Michael Fabinyi, 2018. "Food and water insecurity in specialised fishing communities: evidence from the Philippines," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(4), pages 243-253, November.
    11. Marjorie Baquedano-Rodríguez & Juan Rosas-Muñoz & Javier Castillo-Cruces, 2023. "Subjective Socioeconomic Status in Small-Scale Aquaculture: Evidence from Central-Southern Chile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-21, July.
    12. Dirk J. Steenbergen & Hampus Eriksson & Kimberley Hunnam & David J. Mills & Natasha Stacey, 2019. "Following the fish inland: understanding fish distribution networks for rural development and nutrition security," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(6), pages 1417-1432, December.
    13. Wallner-Hahn, Sieglind & Dahlgren, Malin & de la Torre-Castro, Maricela, 2022. "Linking seagrass ecosystem services to food security: The example of southwestern Madagascar’s small-scale fisheries," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    14. Siyuan Wang & Zhouyang Gu, 2022. "Mapping the Field of Value Chain: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-22, June.
    15. Constanza Gonzalez Parrao & Shannon Shisler & Marta Moratti & Cem Yavuz & Arnab Acharya & John Eyers & Birte Snilstveit, 2021. "Aquaculture for improving productivity, income, nutrition and women's empowerment in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A systematic review and meta‐analysis," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), December.
    16. Farmery, Anna K. & Kajlich, Lana & Voyer, Michelle & Bogard, Jessica R. & Duarte, Augustinha, 2020. "Integrating fisheries, food and nutrition – Insights from people and policies in Timor-Leste," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    17. Nong, Duy, 2019. "Potential economic impacts of global wild catch fishery decline in Southeast Asia and South America," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 213-226.
    18. Phong, Truong Ngoc & Thang, Vo Tat & Hoai, Nguyen Trong, 2021. "What motivates farmers to accept good aquaculture practices in development policy? Results from choice experiment surveys with small-scale shrimp farmers in Vietnam," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 454-469.
    19. Tsele T. Nthane & Fred Saunders & Gloria L. Gallardo Fernández & Serge Raemaekers, 2020. "Toward Sustainability of South African Small-Scale Fisheries Leveraging ICT Transformation Pathways," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-22, January.
    20. Jonathan Jaime G. Guerrero & Mark Angelo O. Balendres & Luis O. Amano & Charmaine A. Malonzo & Amelia A. Dorosan, 2021. "Contributions to Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (AFF) Research of Non-AFF Undergraduate Researches: The Case of Bicol University Biology Department," Bicol University R&D Journal, Bicol University, vol. 24(1), pages 1-8, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:23:p:16371-:d:995463. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.