BACKGROUND: Over the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in viewing the diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) through the lens of the biopsychosocial model. However, other than a few epidemiological surveys, there is a dearth of studies from emerging economies that have examined FH using the biological, psychological, and socio-environmental facets of the aforementioned model. AIM. The three aims of the current study were as follows: (i) to examine the psychosocial status among patients with genetically confirmed FH, (ii) to compare their intellectual capacity and cognitive outcomes with a reference group, and (iii) to examine the relationship between health literacy and cognitive functioning. METHOD: Consecutive FH patients referred to the lipid clinic at a tertiary care center for an expert opinion were recruited into this study conducted from September 2019 to March 2020. Information regarding psychosocial functioning, health literacy, quality of life, and affective ranges was surveyed. Indices of current reasoning ability and cognition (attention and concentration, memory, and executive functioning) were compared with a socio-demographically-matched reference group. The current hypothesis also explored the impact of FH on health literacy and cognition. RESULT: A total of 70 participants out of 106 (response rate: 66.0%) initially agreed to participate. However, 18 out of 70 dropped out of the study, yielding a final total of 52 FH patients. With 27 (51.9%) males and 25 (48.1%) females, the mean participant age stood at 37.2 years (SD = 9.2), ranging from 21 to 52 years of age. In the psychosocial data, thirty-two percent (n = 17) of them had anxiety (HADS ≥ 8), and twenty-five percent (n = 13) had depressive symptoms (HADS ≥ 8). The performance of the FH patients was significantly impaired compared to the control group on the indices of current reasoning ability and all domains of cognitive functioning. In the univariate analysis conducted to compare cognitive functioning with health literacy status, only indices of attention and concentration emerged as being significant. CONCLUSION: The current study indicates that the FH population is marked with impediments in biopsychosocial functioning, including indices tapping into the integrity of health literacy, quality of life, affective ranges, and higher functioning such as cognition and current reasoning ability when compared with a socio-demographically-matched reference group. The present results support the hypothesis that chronic diseases vis-à-vis the sequelae of coronary artery disease can potentially impede biopsychosocial functioning.

Background: Aggression, agitation, psychosis, and sleep disturbances are common behavioral symptoms of people with dementia and they can be distressing for both individuals and their carers. Due to their potential side effects, antipsychotic medications are recommended only for severe behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). This study explores the prevalence, patterns, and associated factors with antipsychotic drug use among patients with dementia attending geriatric psychiatry services at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH). Using a retrospective cross-sectional design, this study examines antipsychotic use among elderly patients aged 60 years or older with dementia who attended geriatric psychiatry services from January 2020 to December 2021. The following information was solicited: socio-demographic factors, type and severity of dementia, presence of co-morbid medical or mental illness, the psychotropic medications prescribed, the anti-psychotic medication use, duration of use, and the indication of use were solicited as well. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results: The total prevalence of anti-psychotic use among elderly patients with dementia was 56.6%, and among them, 59% were prescribed anti-psychotics for more than 2 years. Being female, having non-Alzheimer’s dementia, experiencing severe stages of dementia, and having other medical or mental co-morbid conditions were independent predictors of antipsychotic drug use (odds ratio [OR] =1.85, confidence interval [CI] =1.04–3.30; OR=2.77, C.I. 1.52–5.04; OR=4.47, C.I. 2.18–9.18; and OR=2.54, C.I. 1.11–5.78, respectively). Conclusions: Antipsychotic medication use is prevalent among elderly patients with dementia in Oman. The results from this study will help the policymakers and psychiatrists in Oman to plan for the use of non-pharmacological strategies as the first line of management for BPSD.

BACKGROUND: Over the past few years, there has been an increasing interest to view the diagnosis of Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) through the lens of the biopsychosocial model. However, other than a few epidemiological surveys, there is a dearth of studies from emerging economies that have examined FH using the biological, psychological and socio-environmental facets of the aforementioned model. AIM. The three aims of the current study were as follows: (i) to examine the psychosocial status among patients with genetically confirmed FH, (ii) to compare the intellectual capacity and cognitive outcomes with a reference group, and (iii) to examine the relationship between health literacy and cognitive functioning. METHOD: Consecutive FH patients referred to the lipid clinic at a tertiary care center for an expert opinion were recruited into this study, conducted from September 2019 to March 2020. Information regarding psychosocial functioning, health literacy, quality of life, and affective ranges were surveyed. Indices of current reasoning ability (attention and concentration, memory, and executive functioning) were compared with an age-matched reference group. The current hypothesis also explored the impact of FH on health literacy and cognition. RESULT: A total of 70 participants out of 106 (response rate: 66.0%) initially agreed to participate. However, 18 out of 70 dropped out of the study, yielding a final total of 52 FH patients. With 27 (51.9%) males and 25 (48.1%) females, the mean participant age stood at 37.2 years (SD=9.2), ranging from 21 to 52 years of age. In the psychosocial data, thirty-two percent (n=17) of them had anxiety (HADS≥ 8), and twenty-five percent (n=13) had depressive symptoms (HADS≥ 8). The performance of the FH patients was significantly impaired compared to the control group on the indices of current reasoning ability and all domains of cognitive functioning. In univariate analysis conducted to compare cognitive functioning with health literacy status, only indices of attention and concentration emerged as being significant. CONCLUSION: To date, there are only a few studies employing the biopsychosocial paradigm to investigate the FH population. The current study indicates that the FH population is marked by an impediment in almost all of the core features that are characteristically assessed by the biopsychosocial approach.

This study aimed to develop and internally validate a predictive model of perceived stress among first-year military male students to examine the predictive contribution of personality traits, depressive symptoms, and psychological well-being. Understanding these psychological predictors may support interventions for students at elevated risk of stress during military and academic transition. A cross-sectional web-based survey included 274 first-year male students at the Military Technological College in Oman. Outcome measures included the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depressive symptoms, the WHO-5 Well-being Index, and the Big Five Inventory assessing personality traits. All variables were analyzed as continuous measures. Predictive modeling was performed using Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) linear regression with repeated 70/30 train–test splitting across 100 iterations and 10-fold cross-validation for internal validation. The final analytic sample included 266 participants after exclusion of incomplete responses. Across the 100 internal validation runs, the LASSO model accounted for approximately 40% of the variance in perceived stress (training R² = 0.44 ± 0.04; test R² = 0.40 ± 0.08). Neuroticism (β = 0.35) and depressive symptoms (β = 0.15) showed positive associations with perceived stress, whereas psychological well-being showed a negative association (β = −0.32). PHQ-9, WHO-5, and neuroticism were selected in 100% of the repeated LASSO models, which showed the most stable predictive contribution. Model performance on the test datasets showed stable predictive accuracy (MSE = 20.24 ± 2.48; RMSE = 4.49 ± 0.28; MAE = 3.61 ± 0.23). These findings demonstrate that personality traits, depressive symptoms, and psychological well-being collectively contribute to the statistical modeling of perceived stress among military students. The internally validated associative model may support institutional interventions for students vulnerable to elevated stress, informing targeted preventive mental health strategies within military training environments.