We estimated the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and its clinical implications among 1 110 Omani patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) using 2 different CVD risk tools: the general Framingham risk profile (GFRP) and the joint World Health Organization/International Society of Hypertension (WHO/ISH) risk prediction charts. The GFRP tool identified higher proportion of patients compared with joint WHO/ISH tool at 10-year CVD risk 10% to <20% and at 20% to <30%. At CVD risk ≥30%, both assessment tools identified similar proportions of patients (22% vs 24%; P=.120). Compared with WHO/ISH charts, the GFRP identified almost double the number of men eligible for aspirin treatment at CVD risk thresholds of ≥10% (86% vs 43%). In women, the proportions were, 66% and 45%, respectively. For statins, the figures were, 60% and 37%, for men and 28% and 36%, for women. In conclusion, the GFRP overestimates the number of patients eligible for primary prevention of CVD compared with the joint WHO/ISH method.

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Telemedicine has been appreciated as a smart solution to bridge the gaps in the delivery and coverage of healthcare worldwide. With the great impetus to integrate this service into primary healthcare facilities, evaluating its usability should be an ongoing process. This study aimed to quantitatively evaluate the usability of telemedicine from the primary healthcare physicians’ perspective in Oman. The evaluation was conducted using a cross-sectional study design. A self-administered online questionnaire was developed and validated as a scale to evaluate the usability of telemedicine as a safe and useful communication channel and outpatient record. Following a pilot study, the questionnaire was distributed to a sample of primary healthcare physicians who ran telemedicine clinics in Oman during 2020-2022. The questionnaire was completed by 143 primary healthcare physicians from different governorates. The total mean scale and subscale scores were computed. In addition, the frequency distribution of responses to each question was presented. The results showed that the total mean scale score of the usability of telemedicine in our clinics was 3.43/5.00. The subscale scores of the usability of telemedicine as a safe and useful service, the usability of telemedicine as a communication channel, and the usability of telemedicine as an outpatient record were 3.42/5.00, 3.23/5.00, and 3.99/5.00, respectively. In conclusion, the current telemedicine service in Oman’s primary healthcare facilities has some usability features, but there is still much room for improvement. With logical reasoning, a framework of potential determinants was inferred and proposed to improve the usability of telemedicine services in the future and comply with the principles of biomedical ethics.

ObjectivesWe sought to investigate the epidemiology of lung cancer and its trends in Oman over 20 years.MethodsWe analyzed all cases of primary lung cancer reported to the Oman National Cancer Registry between 1996 and 2015. The World Standard Population was used to obtain age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) of lung cancer per 100 000. Analyses were conducted using univariate statistics.ResultsA total of 956 cases of primary lung cancer cases were registered in Oman between 1996 and 2015, with a male to female ratio of 3:1. In men, the ASR was 8.2 per 100 000, while in females it was 2.6 per 100 000 over the entire study period. There were no statistically significant differences in the ASR among men or women when the data was divided over three calendar periods (1996–2005, 2006–2015, and 1996–2015) (p = 0.332 and p = 0.577, respectively). There was also no increasing trend in the incidence of lung cancer. The risk of lung cancer onset commenced in the 30–34 year age group and the mean age at diagnosis was 60.0 years for men and 61.0 years for women. Adenocarcinoma was the most common type of lung cancer among Omanis with a higher proportion in females compared to males.ConclusionsOman has one of the lowest incidence rates of lung cancer in the world with no evidence of an increasing trend of this cancer type. This could be attributed to low uptake of tobacco smoking among both sexes. National authorities should capitalize on this finding to avoid any future lung cancer epidemics especially those driven by tobacco use.

Objective: To develop and validate a diabetic risk score model, as a non-invasive and selfadministered screening tool, to be used in the general Omani population. Methods: The World Health Survey (WHS) 2008 data from Oman (n=2,720) was used to develop the risk score model. Multivariable logistic regression with backward stepwise method was implemented to obtain risk factors regression coefficients for gender, age, educational attainment, marital status, place of residence, hypertension, body mass index, waist circumference, tobacco use, daily fruits and vegetables intake and weekly physical activity. The model coefficients were multiplied by a factor of five to allocate each variable category a risk score. The total score was calculated as the sum of these individual scores. The score was validated using another Omani cohort (Sur Survey 2006 dataset, n=1,355) Page 2 of 24 by calculating the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) and optimal score sensitivity and specificity were determined. Results: A robust diabetes risk score model was produced, which composed of eight variables (age, gender, education level, marital status, place of residence, hypertension, smoking status and body mass index) with an optimal cutoff point of ≥15 to classify persons with possible prevalent T2DM. At this cutoff point, the model had a sensitivity of 71.1%, specificity of 74.4% and AUC of 0.80 (95% CI) 0.7–0.82, when internally validated (in the WHS 2008 cohort). When the model was externally validated (using the Sur 2006 cohort), the optimal cutoff point for the score was ≥13, with a lower sensitivity (54%), higher specificity (79%) and an AUC of 0.74 (95% CI 0.70–0.78). In contrast, test of the old Omani, Kuwaiti, Saudi and Finnish diabetes risk scores, in both of our study populations, showed poor performance of these models among Omanis with poor sensitivity (29% to 63.5%) and reasonable specificity (70% to 80%). Conclusion: The developed diabetes risk score for screening prevalent T2DM, provides an easy-to-use self-administered tool to identify most individuals at risk of this condition in Oman. The score incorporates eight diabetes-associated risk factors that can also act as a tool to increase people’s awareness about the importance of diabetes-related risk factors and provide information for policy makers to establish a diabetes prevention programs.