Familial Clustering of Type 2 Diabetes among Omanis

• Published in: Oman medical journal Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 51 - 54
• Main Authors: Al-Shafaee , Mohammed, Al-Mamari , Ali, Bayoumi , Riad, Al-Sinani , Sawsan, Jaju , Deepali, Al-Abri , Mohammed, Hassan , Mohammed, Al-Hashmi , Khamis, Al-Shafie , Omaima, Woodhouse , Nicholas, Al-Yahyaee , Said, Albarwani , Sulayma, Rizvi , Syed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Muscat - Oman Oman Medical Specialty Board 2014; OMJ
• Subjects: DIABETES; DISEASES; FAMILY; Family clustering; HEALTH CENTRES; LABORATORY TESTING; MEDICAL EXAMINATION; OMAN; Original; QUALITY OF LIFE; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; الأسرة; الأمراض; الإختبار المخبري; الفحص الطبي; المراكز الصحية; عمان; مرض السكر; نوعية الحياة; Family clustering; Oman; Type 2 diabetes mellitus
• ISSN: 1999-768X; 2070-5204
• DOI: 10.5001/omj.2014.11

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.