Oman Launches Nationwide Screening of Lifestyle Diseases

Oman launches nationwide screening of lifestyle diseases

ABU DHABI, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — The Health Ministry of Oman has launched a nationwide program to screen lifestyle diseases in a bid to tackle potentially worrisome trends among its citizens, the English newspaper Oman Daily Observer reported on Wednesday.

The screening program is now available in a number of primary healthcare institutions in Oman, and is going to cover all primary healthcare centers across the Gulf country.

The program covers five common ailments — diabetes, hypertension, chronic renal impairment, obesity and high blood cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia).

The decision to launch the program follows a pilot study, in which around 2000 individuals participated, on non-communicable diseases that showed an “alarming” trend in undiagnosed cases among Omani residents.

The “most alarming finding” was the prevalence of obesity among the participants, said a report by the Directorate General of Health Affairs under the Health Ministry.

According to the report, roughly 71 percent of participants were found to be overweight.

Around 14.4 percent suffered from hypertension, 8 percent from diabetes, 9.9 percent from low eGFR, an indication of renal impairment, in addition, roughly 41 percent suffered from high total cholesterol.

Significantly, many of the cases were newly diagnosed, underlining the importance of regular screening for non- communicable diseases.

Officials hope that early detection of these lifestyle diseases will lead to early intervention, thereby helping mitigate disease- related complications.

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