The Prevalence of Rheumatoid Arthritis in the Sultanate of Oman

Abstract

One thousand nine hundred and twenty-five Omani adults aged 16 and over were studied in a house-to-house survey in representative areas of Oman. Seven cases (five female) are described who satisfied the 1987 ARA criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), indicating a prevalence of 3.6 per thousand adults. Adjusted for the population structure, the prevalence was 8.4 per thousand adults. Complementary data are also presented on cases of RA ascertained by special screening clinics in rural health centres and by hospital rheumatology clinics. In all parts of the study, cases of RA were less often seropositive than in European populations which may account for the lower prevalence of erosive disease.

The Prevalence of Rheumatoid Arthritis in the South of Jordan

“…Even in Jordan, a similar study was conducted by our colleagues to evaluate the prevalence of RA in the northern part of Jordan revealed that it was around 0.48 % (7). However, some studies revealed results similar to that obtained in our study, for example in Oman (8). These variations in the prevalence of RA suggest that genetic factors as well as environmental factors, including dietary habits, play a major role in the occurrence of RA.…”

The effectiveness of nurse-led care in people with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review

“…Southern European countries have reported a relatively lower incidences 0.01 to 0.02% (Drosos et al, 1997, Guillemin et al, 1994 and there are no incidence data from developing countries. The prevalence in Northern Europe and North America ranges between 0.5 1.1% (MacGregor and Silman, 2003, Riise et al, 2000, Silman and Hochberg, 2001, Southern Europe 0.3-0.7% (Andrianakos et al, 2003, Carmona et al, 2002, Cimmino et al, 1998 " , developing countries between 0.1-0.5% (Akar et al, 2004, Darmawan et al, 1993, Pountain, 1991, Silman and Hochberg, 2001, Spindler et al, 2002 and in some rural Africa 0 to 0.3% Hochberg, 2001, Silman et al, 1993). Treatment of RA is multi-disciplinary involving medications, regular follow-up, physiotherapy, joint protection, selfmanagement and psychosocial support.…”

The Prevalence of Rheumatoid Arthritis in the Qassim Region of Saudi Arabia

“…10 Two similar studies conducted in Iraq and Oman showed RA prevalence of 1% and 0.36%, respectively. 5,6 The Iraq study showed a high prevalence because they used the 1958 ACR criteria, which are less specific. One of the probable reasons for the lower RA prevalence rate in developing countries is the predominance of a younger population.…”

“…3,4 In the Gulf region, two studies estimated the prevalence of RA to be 1% in the Iraqi population, 5 and 0.36% in the Omani population. 6 It is important to know the magnitude of the problem in Saudi Arabia, because the disease has been shown to put an enormous economic burden on the health services in particular, and on the society in general. The disease has been described as the most common inflammatory arthritis in a hospital-based population study in Saudi Arabia, and appears to be less severe than those encountered in developed countries, 7 but the magnitude of the problem in the general population is not fully known.…”