Analysis of the population structure in Oman.

Knowledge of a population structure can be a unique aid in planning genetic services. In order to facilitate the development of genetic services in the Sultanate of Oman, a tribal data base has been developed. The historic records of the beginning of the 19th century were used as the basis and were updated with contemporary information. The tribal data base includes tribal names, locations, and the main 185 major tribes and their subsections. Tribal data can be used for health care planning and the development of disease-specific genetic registers if the hospital records also include the tribal name. They may also provide a useful aid in genetic screening and disease prevention programmes, as when specific mutations are found in rare diseases, it is likely that these will be found to be exclusive to specific tribes, and laboratory testing will be greatly simplified. It is likely that similar data bases could be developed elsewhere in the Middle East and in the immigrant communities in Western Europe.