Sunday 24 / November / 2024
Muscat: More people in Oman were admitted to hospital in 2018 for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which are largely caused by poor lifestyle, than for communicable diseases.
According to the annual report released by the Ministry of Health, there were 9,263 outpatients for every 10,000 people in the country who were treated at hospitals due to non-communicable diseases, as compared to only 6,429 for every 10,000 who sought admission for communicable diseases.
Cases relating to NCDs accounted for 44.2 per cent of outpatient conditions, while communicable diseases made up to only 30.7 per cent. In terms of in-patient cases, only 291 among every 10,000 sought treatment for NCDs (39.8 per cent of all cases), compared to 116 cases for 10,000 members of the population when it came to communicable diseases. Among those who were admitted for symptoms associated with non-communicable diseases, digestive complaints and disorders were the leading cause, with 1,332 outpatients admitted due to digestive issues. A further 1,327 had musculoskeletal and connective tissue complaints, and skin diseases accounted for another 566 cases.
Other non-communicable diseases that lead to people seeking medical aid included endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders (303), ear problems (341), nervous and mental disorders (224), blood diseases (151), circulatory (223) and respiratory (222) problems, breast disorders (31), and urinary diseases (151). The Ministry of Health said in this context, “For combating such diseases, efforts of various authorities concerned with health are needed to be combined with individuals’ ability to change one’s lifestyle. This might result in reducing the burden of NCD-related morbidity on individual and community, taking into consideration the relatively long-term treatment besides the availability of advanced and costly resources at the same time.”
“The data of inpatients at MoH hospitals point out that four out of every 10,000 persons were admitted due to hypertension diseases, while six out of every 10,000 persons were admitted due to diabetes,” added the ministry. “Cardiovascular diseases caused about 26 per cent of the total deaths in hospitals, 10 per cent of the deaths were caused by cancers.”
The highest number of outpatient admissions per 10,000 people took place in the Musandam Governorate, where there were 19,170 cases for every 10,000 people, which meant that each person there made nearly two visits to a hospital to deal with their conditions. This was followed by the Wusta (18,997), South Sharqiyah (14,481), Dhahirah (13,429), Buraimi (12,860), South Batinah (12,533), North Sharqiyah (11,807), North Batinah (11,421), Dakhiliyah (10,010) and Dhofar (9,168) Governorates.
The Muscat Governorate showed the least number of admissions due to non-communicable diseases, standing at only 3,782 for every 10,000 people. Musandam also recorded the highest number of outpatient visits when it came to communicable diseases. For every 10,000 member of the population, there were 12,350 visits made to hospitals and clinics in Musandam to treat communicable diseases.
This was followed by the South Sharqiyah (11,022), Wusta (10,598), South Batinah (9,829), Dhahirah (8,300), Buraimi (8,243), Dakhiliyah (7,760), North Sharqiyah (7,474), North Batinah (7,457), and Dhofar (7,327) Governorates. Once again, Muscat showed the least number of outpatient cases over communicable diseases, with 2,229 for every 10,000 people.
While percentage of people seeking help for the treatment of communicable diseases has dropped slightly from 31.6 per cent in 2015 to 30.7 per cent in 2018, the figures for non-communicable diseases between the two years are nearly the same, with 44.3 per cent of outpatient cases in 2015 arising due to NCDs, compared to 44.2 per cent in 2018. Respiratory conditions were the leading cause for males in Oman to seek treatment, with 4,285 for every 10,000 males seeking medical aid.
Children aged four and under made up the highest number of admissions for respiratory ailments (25,449), followed by children between the ages of five and nine (10,417), and that number seemed to steadily decline as males got older. Digestive disorders were the second-most pressing concern for males to receive treatment, with there being 1,348 related outpatient cases among the male population. Once again, children aged four and under (4,033) represented the highest number of patients who received treatment for digestive problems, followed by those between the ages of five and nine (2,811), 10 and 14 (2,324) and 15 and 19 (2,735).
Conditions among the female population were also similar, with there being 6,887 patients who required treatment for respiratory conditions among every 10,000 women in the country.
Once again, girls aged four and under formed the highest number of patients seeking treatment for respiratory conditions (21,914) followed by those in the five to nine years old age bracket (9,383).
Digestive complaints accounted for another 2,506 female outpatients for every 10,000, with there being 3,482 cases of diseases related to the digestive system for every 10,000 girls aged four and under. Similarly, girls between the ages of five and nine years presented another 2,677 cases for every 10,000 females of that age bracket of the country’s population. Among communicable diseases, airborne infections were the overwhelmingly leading cause for patients seeking assistance, with 5,130 of the national average of 6,429 cases caused due to airborne diseases. Contaminated hands, food and water were the cause for another 426 cases. The World Health Organisation says on NCDs, “Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, are the leading cause of mortality in the world. This invisible epidemic is an under-appreciated cause of poverty and hinders the economic development of many countries.” “The burden is growing...the number of people, families and communities afflicted is increasing,” added WHO.
“Common, modifiable risk factors underlie the major NCDs. They include tobacco, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet, insufficient physical activity, overweight/obesity, raised blood pressure, raised blood sugar, and raised cholesterol. The NCD threat can be overcome using existing knowledge,” the organisation stated.
