DHA-enriched re-esterified triacylglycerol fish oil supplementation and oily fish consumption enhance red blood n-3 fatty acid index in Omani pre-adolescent schoolchildren.

Dietary habits of Omani population particularly of children and young adults have changed significantly. Consumption of imported calorie-dense foods, vegetable oils, milled and polished grains and carbonated beverages have become the norm. Concomitantly, there has been an exponential increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. The impact of the westernisation of eating habits on children has not been evaluated. We have investigated blood fatty acid profile of male (n = 125) and female (n = 160) children aged 9 and 10 (9.8 ±â€¯0.4) years enrolled from three state-funded schools. The schools, which are homogenous with respect to socio-economic background of their pupils, were randomised into fish oil (n = 98), oily fish (n = 82) or control (n = 105) group. Subsequently, the children were given during morning tea break for 12 weeks: 1. DHA-enriched re-esterified triacylglycerol fish oil capsule with cheese/salad sandwich (fish oil group), 2. Lightly grilled oily fish with salad (fish group) or 3. Cheese/salad sandwich (control group). At baseline, the males had higher myristic, palmitic and oleic and lower adrenic acids than the females (p < 0.05). There was no difference in n-3 fatty acid index (4.86 ±â€¯1.95 vs. 5.12 ±â€¯1.67, p > 0.05) or AA (14.6 ±â€¯1.9 vs. 14.9 ±â€¯1.8, p > 0.05) between the genders. There was no difference in any of the fatty acids between the three groups at baseline. Post-intervention, the oily fish group had lower n-3 fatty acid index (EPA + DHA, 6.03 ±â€¯1.39 vs. 6.60 ±â€¯1.63, p < 0.05) and higher AA (15.2 ±â€¯1.8 vs. 13.7 ±â€¯2.0, p = 0.0001) and n-3 DPA (1.40 ±â€¯0.27 vs. 1.07 ±â€¯0.22, p = 0.0001) compared with those who received fish oil capsules. In both the fish oil and oily fish groups, fatty acid index correlated positively with AA (r = 0.394, p = 0.0001; r = 0.231, p = 0.038) and negatively with total saturated (r = - 0.816, p = 0.0001; r = - 0.439, p = 0.0001) and total mono-unsaturated (r = - 0.431, p = 0.0001; r = - 0.231, p = 0.037) fatty acids. Although seafood is an integral part of traditional Omani cuisine the children had a low level of n-3 fatty acids index. There is a need to address this nutritional insufficiency through school feeding programme, targeted intervention with n-3 fatty acid enriched food products and/or family education programme.

Incidence and pattern of thyroid dysfunction in patients on chronic amiodarone therapy: experience at a tertiary care centre in oman.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence and pattern of thyroid dysfunction (TD) in patients on chronic amiodarone therapy. METHODS: A retrospective study which evaluated 59 patients who had received amiodarone therapy regularly for at least 12 months from a period of 3 years from October 2007 to October 2010. The patients were followed-up at the cardiac clinic at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman. RESULTS: The mean age of the cohort was 63 ± 13 years ranging from 27 to 98 years. Fifty-one percent (n = 30) of the patients were female. There were 11 (19%) cases of thyroid dysfunction (TD). Seven (12%) patients were hypothyroid, 3 (5%) had hyperthyroidism and 1 (2%) patient had sub-clinical hypothyroidism; no cases of sub-clinical hyperthyroidism were noted. Female gender and presence of anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies were significantly associated with amiodarone-induced hypothyroidism (p = 0.001) while age, amiodarone dose and duration of therapy were not correlated with the development of TD (all p-values > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Amiodarone-induced thyroid dysfunction is prevalent. Hypothyroidism was more frequent and seen more in female patients and those who had positive anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies. Initial screening and periodic monitoring of thyroid function is mandatory for all patients on amiodarone therapy.