Daytime sleepiness among young adult omani car drivers

Objectives: Sleepiness and fatigue play significant roles in exacerbating the occurrence of car crashes.However, there is a dearth of studies examining the prevalence of sleepiness while driving among Omanis. This study aimed

to determine the proportion of young Omani adults who confess to daytime sleepiness while driving and to investigate associations between gender, daytime sleepiness and risk of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome [OSAS]

Methods: This cross-sectional study took place at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, between May and July 2014 and included 600 young adult Omani non-commercial drivers. The Berlin Questionnaire and Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS] were distributed among the participants, along with additional questions about their sleeping habits. Associations between daytime sleepiness while driving and nocturnal sleep duration, risk of OSAS and gender were determined

Results: A total of 492 private vehicle drivers took part in the study [response rate: 82%], of which 50.4% were male. Overall, 124 Omanis [25.2%] reported experiencing daytime sleepiness while driving at least once per month. There was a significant association between nocturnal sleep duration of <6 hours and sleepiness while driving [P = 0.042]. Female participants were significantly more likely to score >10 on the ESS, indicating a greater propensity for daytime sleepiness [P = 0.006].However, male drivers were significantly more likely to report sleepiness while driving [P = 0.001]

Conclusion: Sleepiness while driving was common among young male drivers in Oman and might be due to nocturnal sleep deprivation. Further studies are needed so that preventative measures can be developed

Triad of temporomandibular joint ankylosis, mandibular retrognathia and severe obstructive sleep apnoea

The surgical management of paediatric patients with temporomandibular joint [TMJ] ankylosis, mandibular retrognathia and obstructive sleep apnoea [OSA] is challenging. We report a nine-year-old boy who presented to the Department of Oral Health, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, in 2016 with complaints of limited mouth opening, loud snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness. He was diagnosed with TMJ ankylosis, mandibular retrognathia and severe OSA. The patient initially underwent mandibular distraction and, subsequently, release of the TMJ ankylosis and rib graft reconstruction. The overall patient outcome was successful, with improvement in OSA-related symptoms, good facial symmetry and adequate mouth opening

Frequency of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome among patients with epilepsy attending a tertiary neurology clinic

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder with a median lifetime prevalence of 14 per 1000 subjects. Sleep disorders could influence epileptic seizure. The most common sleep disorder is obstructive sleep apnea syndrome [OSAS] which occurs in 2% of adult women and 4% of adult men in the general population. The aim of this study is to estimate the frequency of OSAS among patients with epilepsy and to study the seizure characteristics among those patients with co-morbid OSAS. Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of epilepsy who attended the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital neurology clinic were recruited for the study between June 2011 and April 2012. Patients were screened for OSAS by direct interview using the validated Arabic version of the Berlin questionnaire. Patients identified as high-risk underwent polysomnography. A total of 100 patients with epilepsy [55 men and 45 women] were screened for OSAS. Generalized and focal seizure was found in 67% of male and 27% of female patients. Six percent of the participants had epilepsy of undetermined type. Only 9% of the sample was found to have high risk of OSAS based on the Berlin questionnaire. No significant correlation was found between risk of OSAS, type of epilepsy, and anti-epileptic drugs. The risk of OSAS was marginally greater in patients with epilepsy compared to the general population with the overall prevalence of 9%

White coat hypertension and masked hypertension among Omani patients attending a tertiary hospital for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring

Our study aimed to estimate the rate of white coat hypertension [WCH] and effect, and masked hypertension in patients attending a tertiary care hospital for 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring [24-h ABPM]. A total of 231 adult patients were referred to the Department of Clinical Physiology at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, for ABPM, between January 2010 and June 2012. The following data were gathered and analyzed: demographic data, clinic blood pressure [BP] measurements, and 24-h BP profile from ABPM. Thirty-two patients were excluded and the final analysis included 199 patients. There were 105 [52.8%] women and 94 [47.2%] men studied. The mean age of patients was 46 +/- 15 years and most patients were overweight with a mean BMI of 29.6 +/- 5 kg/m[2]. Around half of patients [53.8%] were on one or more antihypertensive medications. WCH was found in 10.6% and white coat effect was found in 16% of patients. The majority of patients [57%] with WCH were aged 40 years or above. Masked hypertension was present in 6% of patients and masked uncontrolled hypertension in 8.5% of patients. Our study showed that WCH and effect, and masked hypertension are common in hypertensive patients. Identifying these patients will have an impact on their management. However, the results of the study should be interpreted within the context of its limitations. Prospective randomized community and hospital-based studies should be conducted to estimate the true prevalence in the general population as well as in hypertensive patients

Familial clustering of type 2 diabetes among Omanis

The aim of this study was to screen Omani individuals for the familial aggregation of type 2 diabetes mellitus. A random cohort of 1182 Omani individuals visiting the Family Medicine Clinic at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital [SQUH], Muscat, Oman, for regular medical checkup, aged >/= 40 years, were sampled. Patients were categorized into three groups: [1] individuals who claim not to have diabetes and had no family history of diabetes; [2] individuals who claim not to have diabetes but had family history of diabetes; [3] individuals with diabetes. Only 16% of these Omani individuals had no diabetes and no family history of diabetes. Another separate random cohort of 234 Omani type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, from the Diabetes Clinic at SQUH, were interviewed and questioned about their family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Ninety five percent of the patients had a family history of diabetes. Eighty percent had first degree relatives with diabetes and 46% had second degree relatives with diabetes. At least one parent with diabetes was reported among 55% of these diabetics, while maternal diabetes [55%] was found to be higher than paternal diabetes [47%]. However, only 15% had both parents with diabetes. Furthermore, almost half of the 234 diabetics were having at least one of the following relatives with diabetes: brother, sister, aunt or an uncle. The findings of this study confirm familial aggregation of diabetes among the Omani population. Compared to other populations, familial aggregation of type 2 diabetes mellitus among Omanis is relatively very high, and is perhaps due to the very high degree of consanguinity among Omanis. Since almost everyone seems to have a genetic predisposition to diabetes, the dramatic lifestyle changes over the past 25 years, could tip the population into an epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Impaired fasting glucose in Omani adults with no family history of type 2 diabetes

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose [IFG] among Omani adults with no family history [FH] of diabetes and to investigate the factors behind the risk of developing type 2 diabetes [T2D], while excluding a FH of diabetes. A total of 1,182 Omani adults, aged >40 years, visited the Family Medicine and Community Health Clinic at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman, on days other than the Diabetes Clinic days, from July 2010 to July 2011. The subjects were interviewed and asked if they had T2D or a FH of T2D. Only 191 [16%] reported no personal history of T2D or FH of the disease. Of these, anthropometric and biochemical data was complete in 159 subjects. Of these a total of 42 [26%] had IFG according to the American Diabetes Association criteria. Body mass index, fasting insulin, haemoglobin A[1c] and blood pressure [BP], were significantly higher among individuals with IFG [P <0.01, P <0.05, P <0.01 and P <0.01, respectively]. In addition, fasting insulin, BP and serum lipid profile were correlated with obesity indices [P <0.05]. Obesity indices were strongly associated with the risk of IFG among Omanis, with waist circumference being the strongest predictor. Despite claiming no FH of diabetes, a large number of Omani adults in this study had a high risk of developing diabetes. This is possibly due to environmental factors and endogamy. The high prevalence of obesity combined with genetically susceptible individuals is a warning that diabetes could be a future epidemic in Oman

Validation of the Arabic version of the Epworth sleepiness scale in Oman

The Epworth sleepiness scale is a self-administered eight-item questionnaire that was developed as a tool to measure subjective sleepiness in adults. The validity of the Epworth sleepiness scale has been validated and tested in different populations and ethnic groups. However, it has yet to be validated or tested in an Omani or other Arabic speaking population. Thus, the aim of this study is to test the validity and reproducibility of the Epworth sleepiness scale in an Omani population. Subjects were recruited from the general population and were asked to participate in the study. The study enrolled 97 Omani volunteers and was conducted between May and October 2008. An Arabic version of the original English questionnaire was used. The study was approved by the Research and Ethics committee of the institution. Lin's concordance correlation coefficient along with Bland-Altman plots were used to test the agreement between the Arabic and English versions of the Epworth sleepiness scale. The study included a total of 37 males [38%] and 60 females [62%] with age ranging between 18-75 years. Concordance correlation results revealed a substantial concordance [RhoC] of 0.914, but one that does not approach 1 [95% CI: 0.881, 0.947]. This results from both lack of perfect correlation [Pearson's r=0.914] and bias [C_b = 1.000]. The Bland and Altman's limits-of-agreement measured at 0.000 [95% CI: -2.684, 2.684], indicating insignificant average departure from agreement between the two versions of the Epworth sleepiness scale. The results indicate agreement between the two versions of ESS [English and the Arabic].

Gender difference in relationship of apnoea/hypopnoea index with body mass index and age in the Omani population

Obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome [OSAHS] is a disorder characterised by repetitive upper airway collapse during sleep in association with daytime sleepiness. It has an estimated prevalence of 2% and 4% among middle-aged women and men respectively. The aim of the study was to look at the association of body mass index [BMI], age and gender and prevalence of OSAHS in the Omani population. Polysomnography reports and hospital medical records of all patients who took part in the Sleep Study at the Sleep Laboratory of the Clinical Physiology Department, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, between January 1995 and December 2006, were retrospectively reviewed. Data from both sources was gathered and analysed. A total of 1,042 sleep studies were conducted with 608 valid studies for analysis. The study showed that the apnoea/ hypopnoea index [AHI] >15 was more prevalent in men compared to women [47.9% versus 33.5%, P = 0.001]. There was significant correlation of AHI with BMI [P <0.0001] among men compared to women [P = 0.1]; however, age was significantly correlated with AHI among women [P <0.0001], but not with men [P = 0.1]. The results indicate that there is a gender difference in the prevalence of OSAHS and obesity is a major risk factor for OSAHS among Omani men whereas age is found to be a risk factor for OSAHS among women

Assessment of aerobic fitness and its correlates in Omani adolescents using the 2o-metre shuttle run test. A pilot study

To assess aerobic fitness in male and female adolescents using the multistage ŸcŸa-metre shuttle run test and correlate it with selected fitness variables. The subjects comprised 83 girls and 64 boys aged 15-16 years, randomly selected from two segregated government schools in Muscat. After the pupils filled in a short questionnaire on their personal leisure time activities of the preceding week, their heights and weights were measured. Aerobic fitness was assessed by estimating each pupil's minimal oxygen uptake levels [VO[2max]] using the multistage 20-metre shuttle running test [20-MST]. Boys spent more time than girls on leisure physical activities, television, computer and video games and the Internet. The estimated VO[2max] in both boys and girls showed high correlation with their weekly physical activities. The time spent on television and computer negatively correlated with VO[2max] in girls but not in boys. Girls had higher body mass index [BMI] and less VO[2max] compared to boys; BMI showed a negative correlation with VO[2max] in girls but not in boys. Aerobic fitness in this sample was higher in boys than in girls and was strongly influenced by weekly physical activities in both genders. The 20-MST has proved a simple and inexpensive field test for aerobic fitness that could be implemented on a wide scale