Health facilities for primary eye care in Sultanate of Oman. Primary eye care study 2000

Endeavor to improve [i] the quality of Primary Eye Care with the aid of an Eye Health Care Programme and [ii] the resourcing Primary Eye Care in Ministry of Health Institutions in 2001. Method: In this descriptive study, staff were randomly selected from 84 health institutions and representing 136 primary health institutions to carry out quality assurance procedures. Ophthalmologists trained in this evaluation were field staff who evaluated the resource status, such as health staff, space for eye care delivery, instruments, materials for health education, referring cases [for continuous medical education of the primary health staff], drugs for eye care, etc., in each health institution. In addition to availability, the standards of eye care delivery were also estimated. The health institutes of Oman have adequate resources for Primary Eye Care. Additional requirement of ophthalmic loupes and medicaments would further improve Primary Eye Care in Oman. It is recommended that such a review of the health care programme and its resources and quality be periodically conducted as a part of a system of quality assurance in primary health care

Prevalence of asthma symptoms in Omani schoolchildren

To determine the prevalence of asthma in Omani schoolchildren using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children [ISAAC] protocols. The ISAAC-written questionnaire was completed by a total of 7,067 Omani schoolchildren [3,893 children aged 6-7 years of which 56% were boys and 3,174 aged 13-14 years of which 51% were boys] from the 10 health regions in the country. The estimated mean national 12-month prevalence of any wheeze, night waking with wheeze, speech limiting wheeze and exercise wheeze were respectively 7.8%,3.5%, 3.2% and 6.9% for the 6-7 year age group and 8.9%, 2.9%, 4.0% and 19.2% for the 13-14 year age group. Both age groups reported high prevalence of night cough [19.6% and 20.9% in the younger and the older children respectively]. The prevalence of self-reported asthma diagnosis was higher in the older age group [20.7% vs. 10.5%, p < 0.001]. In the younger age group, the diagnosis of asthma was more common in boys [12.5% vs. 8.0%, p > 0.001], but there was no significant difference between the two sexes in the older age group [22.0% of boys vs. 20.5% of girls]. There was nearly three-fold difference in the prevalence of self-reported diagnosis of asthma between the regions with the highest and the lowest prevalence of asthma for both young and older children [from 5.3% and 9.5% in Musandam to 14.2% and 30.6% in South Sharqiya, respectively]. The results of this first epidemiological survey pf asthma in Oman indicate that asthma is common in Omani children and adolescents. Night cough is the most frequent symptom. There is also significant regional variation in prevalence of asthma symptoms and diagnosis within the country and this requires further investigation

Diabetes in Oman: Comparison of 1997 American diabetes association classification of diabetes mellitus with 1985 WHO classification

Diabetes mellitus [DM] is a major public health problem in Oman. We evaluated the impact of the revised diagnostic criteria for DM adopted by the American Diabetes Association [ADA] on the prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance [IGT], and on the classification of individuals among the Omani population. Subjects and We used the dataset of the National Diabetes Survey, conducted in 1991 and involving 4682 subjects who did not have any missing data on fasting and 2-hour glucose. The subjects comprised 2002 males and 2680 females aged 20 years or above. Data were analyzed using the ADA criteria [diabetes as fasting plasma glucose [FPG] 7 mmol/L, impaired fasting glucose [IFG] as FPG 6.1 mmol/L and <7 mmol/L], and compared these with the World Health Organization [WHO] criteria [diabetes as FPG 7.8 mmol/L and/or 2-hour post-glucose load 11.1 mmol/L, IGT as FPG <7.8 mmol/L, and 2-hour post-load 7.8-11.1 mmol/L]. Applying the ADA criteria on the Omani population resulted in an overall reduction of diabetes prevalence by 2.2% [95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6% to 2.8%], and a 4.8% reduction of IGT [95% CI 3.8% to 5.8%]. Over 29% of diabetics classified by the WHO criteria were reclassified as being normal or having IFG by the ADA criteria. Around 3.6% of those who were normoglycemic by the WHO criteria were classified as having diabetes or IFG by the ADA criteria. In all but one region of Oman, the prevalence of diabetes and IFG using the ADA criteria was lower compared to the prevalence using the WHO criteria. Gender, age and body mass index did not seem to pose an increased risk to the probability of being diagnosed by one criteria or the other or both together. The adoption of the ADA criteria in Oman will significantly reduce the prevalence of diabetes and IGT. In addition, the glycemic status of a substantial number of individuals will be changed from normal to either being diabetic or having IGT