Arab Population In Israel Research Articles

Culture-Specific Characteristics of Alcohol Related Disorders and Culture- Sensitive Approach in Ethiopian Immigrants and Ethnic Arabic Groups in Israel

Israel, being a multi-cultural society, faces different unhealthy alcohol intake patterns among various ethnic groups, which in turn need to be addressed in a culture sensitive manner. This article focuses, as an example to the complexity of the issue, on two diverse ethnical groups- the new Jewish immigrants of Ethiopian origin and the Arab population in Israel. The great heterogeneity within these two populations themselves is presented. The Arab speaking population is diverse- most of which are Muslims of different sects, including Bedouins, whose religion prohibits alcohol intake; Christians of different denominations, Druze, Samaritans and others. The Ethiopian “Beta Yisrael” (House of Israel) Jewish tribe, whose members have been immigrating to Israel since 1977, but what seemingly seems to be a homogeneous community, is in fact quite heterogenic culturally, when it comes to developing proper prevention and treatment programs. This heterogeneity finds its expression in varying alcohol intake patterns and epidemiology. Thus, cultural beliefs and behaviors relating to alcohol abuse and abstinence that are relevant to effective culture sensitive interventions are presented too. But how can one plan effective preventive and treatment interventions to suit this heterogeneity? The Integrative Culture Sensitive Assessment and Treatment Model presented, delineates the major stages and the basic steps one must take to implement a culture sensitive preventive or treatment intervention, be it in an individual medical setting or a group or community based public health intervention. Finally, some insights as to culture sensitive interventions in treating alcohol related disorders are presented. “Wine is not for kings… not for kings to drink, nor any strong drink for princes, lest they drink and forget what has been ordained and infringe on the rights of the poor. Give strong drink to the hapless and wine to the embittered. Let them drink and forget their poverty and put their troubles out of mind.” (Proverbs 31, 4-7). “Even if your illness [alcoholism] doesn’t kill you, it’ll still destroy your home.” (Ethiopian proverb).

Between modern and traditional values: Informal mental health help-seeking attitudes according to Israeli Arab women, primary care patients and their providers.

Israeli Arab women under-utilize mental health services. The present study evaluated the use of alternative services for dealing with depression and anxiety among Israeli Arab women and primary care providers. Four focus groups with primary care patients and two focus groups with primary care providers were conducted. Constant comparisons were employed in order to identify major themes related to informal help-seeking behaviors. Three informal help-seeking behaviors were identified: (a) social support, divided into extended family and neighbors versus nuclear family and close friends; (b) religiosity, divided into inner, direct practices and beliefs versus externally mediated ones; and (c) self-help techniques, such as engagement in activities and distancing oneself from the situation. Both social support and religiosity were viewed with ambivalence by primary care patients and providers. The findings suggest that the Arab population in Israel might be lacking informal sources of support at times of mental health needs.

Continuous decrease of consanguineous marriages among Arabs in Israel.

To describe the trend in the rate of consanguineous marriages among the Israeli Arab population and to identify factors associated with this custom shift in recent years. The study was conducted between November 2009 and January 2010 in Family Health Centers. A questionnaire was presented to parents during routine visits to the center with their children. Information on 6,437 couples was collected. The rate of consanguineous marriages decreased from 35.8% among those married before 2000, to 28.2% among those married in 2000-2004, and to 24.0% among those married in 2005-2009 (P for trend <0.001). First cousin marriages were the most common type of consanguineous marriages in all the time periods. Consanguineous marriages were associated with consanguinity between the couples' parents (both husband and wife), a high consanguinity rate in the place of residence and younger age at marriage (wife). The rates of consanguineous marriages among Israeli Arabs are decreasing but still high. Because consanguineous marriages are widely acceptable, the role of public health professionals and primary care personnel is to provide comprehensive information about the potential genetic risks of consanguinity on offspring health and to increase the accessibility of premarital and preconception counseling services.

A long-term follow up of premarital counseling in the Israeli Arab population.

A follow up study of 168 Arab counselees that received premarital genetic counseling between 2001 and 2009, mostly since they planned to marry with a relative, was performed in 2013. Among the 156 cases in which the counselee married, 30 changed their marital plans (19.2%). Those who changed their marital plans were more often Muslim Arabs that came for counseling since they were related in particular first cousins. Among the 126 counselee that married as planned, 66 were interviewed. From these interviews, it appears that many of the counselees that were related as first cousins or closer came to premarital genetic counseling in order to decide whether to marry. Most of the couples interviewed followed the recommendations concerning the use of folic acid and genetic tests. Among the 53 consanguineous couples interviewed, 49 women had 118 children. Among these 118 children, 8 (6.8%) were born with a severe disease in 8 different families. This rate of malformations/genetic diseases is similar to the one observed for consanguineous couples from the general Arab population in the region, suggesting therefore that the premarital counseling and the adherence to the recommendations did not change the final risk to the counselees.

Prevalence of Keratoconus among Young Arab students in Israel

ABSTRACT Purpose To determine the prevalence of keratoconus (KC) in an Arab population in Israel. Materials and methods Videokeratography was performed on volunteer students from the Academic Arab College of Education, in Haifa, Israel. All participants filled out a self-administered questionnaire to evaluate possible risk factors for KC. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed. Results Data of 314 participants were analyzed and a prevalence of (N = 10), 3.18% (95% CI, 1.2 to 5.1%) was found. The only significant factor (both in univariate and multivariate analysis) that was associated with KC was parental consanguinity (OR 5.10, p = 0.02). Druzes and Bedouins had a higher prevalence than Muslims and Christians. However, the differences were not significant possibly due to the small size of the sample. Conclusion The result of this study was similar to other studies conducted in the Middle East, which indicate a higher prevalence of KC than in western countries. It is also recommended that people who have consanguinity in their family should be topographically tested to detect the early stages of KC. How to cite this article Shneor E, Millodot M, Gordon-Shaag A, Essa M, Anton M, Barbara R, Barbara A. Prevalence of Keratoconus among Young Arab Students in Israel. Int J Kerat Ect Cor Dis 2014;3(1):9-14.

Nutrition Style and Diet Composition Leading to Obesity and Overweight in a Cross-Sectional Survey Conducted in a Hospitalized Arab Population in Nazareth, Israel

Background: Previously, epidemiological studies of overweight and obesity in the Mediterranean basin were limited, particularly for Arab population. Obesity and overweight are an important adjustable threat for many complex diseases and are the fifth leading risk for global deaths. Extraordinarily enhanced frequency and rising levels of overweight and obesity over the last 3 to 4 decades give it crucial importance as a current pandemic phenomenon and the main public health emergency worldwide, which is beginning to replace malnutrition, under-nutrition, starvation and contagious diseases as the most noteworthy contributor to chronic diseases. Recently, the effects of overweight and obesity are widely documented as one of Arab’s leading health challenges, involving all ages and all segments of the society. Objectives: The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of obesity and examine covariates associated factors, diet composition and the eating habits among adults Arab population in Israel. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 287 hospitalized patients aged 18 years and older (123 males and 164 females) was conducted in three medical departments (Internal, surgical and orthopedics words) at E.M.M.S hospital (Nazareth). Demographic data, anthropometric assessments, dietary assessment, socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics, BP measurements, and biochemical assessment were collected using a previously validated survey instruments. Questionnaires were checked for completeness, accuracy and bias prior to data entry by a dietarian specialist staff at Nazareth hospital. Results: The mean BMI results were compared between males and females (28.4 ± 0.53) versus (30.31 ± 0.46), respectively (P-value<0.2). The measurement of WC among males and females was as follow: (104.3 ± 1.67) versus (101.4 ± 1.57) respectively, (P-value=0.8). Median intake of refined grain and the whole grain intake (serving/day) in both genders was examined and showed that the median consumption of refined grain is significantly higher than the whole grain in both genders (Pvalue< 0.0001). In addition, we compared the median intake of highly fat dairy products in both genders with low fat dairy (serving/day). We observed that the consumption of high fat dairy products is statistically higher than low fat dairy products (P-value<0.0001). Conclusions: The study provides current data on anthropometric measurements and obesity in urban Arab populations. the results of our study indicate that rates of abnormal waist circumferences (WC) in both genders in all age groups are high, and WC surprisingly continue to increase progressively even after the age 65 in females. Interestingly, we noticed that the Arab population eating regime is disorganized and usually without awareness and control and that only a small proportion of Arabs are aware of the association between obesity and morbidity. Indeed, we observed that unhealthy diet dominate in Arabic kitchens such as high carbohydrates, low fiber and high fat diet consumption. These results are in conflict with the famous known healthy diet in the Middle East known as “Mediterranean diet”, rich in vegetables, fruits, high fiber and low fat diet.

Noncompliance with Ocular Hypertensive Treatment in Patients with Primary Open Angle Glaucoma among the Arab Population in Israel: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

Objective. To evaluate the noncompliance treatment rates among primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) Arab patients in Israel and to verify the associated factors for noncompliance. Patients and Methods. A cross-sectional study took place using a questionnaire. Patients were initially interviewed and requested to answer a questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed based on a pilot test. Items included information about age, gender, number of prescribed drugs, and multiple reasons for noncompliance with drug therapy. Setting. Ophthalmologic HMO clinics, located in 3 Arab cities in the center of Israel. Participants. 400 Arab participants (197 men, 203 women) undergoing routine clinical care were recruited. Results. General rate of noncompliance, for both genders, was found to be 50%. Factors associated with nonadherence included inadequate knowledge (32%), underestimation of the disease severity (25.5%), and denial 15.5%. Compliance rates were unaffected by gender or number of prescribed drugs. Compliance was significantly higher in younger patients (age < 50) and in older patients (age > 80), 63% and 77%, respectively, (P < 0.05). Conclusion(s). Noncompliance was found to be common among an Arab population in Israel, particularly between the ages of 50 and 80. Educational programs, improving patient-physician relationship, and personalizing treatment could provide means for improved adherence.

Political trends in the Israeli Arab population and its vote in parliamentary elections

Full Arab Israeli involvement in the national political system is disappearing from the Israeli political scene. A parallel system is being developed by the community's political leaders. Within this new structure, national elections and the Knesset are viewed as marginal; they serve mainly as a PR arena intended to bring the Arab Israeli message to Jewish/Zionist awareness. Judging from the evidence of recent election results among Arab voters, it is possible to cautiously conclude that the Israeli Arab political stance is less and less a part of the general Israeli political culture.

The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in an Israeli Arab population

AimsTo determine the prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease among the 1.5million Arab residents in Israel who represent 20% of the total population. MethodsFamily physicians in all Arab towns and villages were contacted to obtain information on patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Relevant clinical data were retrieved and updated to December 31, 2009. ResultsInformation was obtained from 23/71 municipalities approached (representing 200,000 out of 1.5million Arabs). There were 64 confirmed cases of Crohn's disease indicating a prevalence rate of 32/100,000. The rate of smoking within this cohort was lower than in the general population (1.5% vs. 40%; P<0.001). There were 44 confirmed cases of ulcerative colitis with a prevalence rate of 22/100,000. The percentage of active smokers in this cohort was 18%. Clinical remission or mild activity was observed in 75% of patients in both cohorts at the time of the survey. Fourteen patients (21%) had undergone surgery for Crohn's disease, whereas none had undergone surgery for ulcerative colitis. Twenty-eight (42%) patients with Crohn's disease and 20 (45%) with ulcerative colitis were on maintenance therapy with 5-aminosalicylic acid. Only 18% with Crohn's disease and 6.8% with ulcerative colitis had received anti-tumor necrosis factor. The most prevalent extra-intestinal manifestations were perianal disease (18%) in Crohn's disease, and arthralgia or arthritis (6.8%) in ulcerative colitis. ConclusionsWe found a low prevalence rate of inflammatory bowel disease in the Israeli Arab population.

Incidence trends and mortality rates of gastric cancer in Israel

Gastric cancer is the fourth most common malignancy worldwide. The incidence trends and mortality rates of gastric cancer in Israel have not been studied in depth. The aim of our study was to try and investigate the aforementioned issues in Israel in different ethnic groups. This retrospective study is based on the data of The Israel National Cancer Registry and The Central Bureau of Statistics. Published data from these two institutes were collected, summarized, and analyzed in this study. Around 650 new cases of gastric cancer are diagnosed yearly in Israel. While we noticed a decline during the period 1990-2007 in the incidence in the Jewish population (13.6-8.9 and 6.75-5.42 cases per 100,000 in Jewish men and women, respectively), an increase in the Arab population was noticed (7.7-10.2 and 3.7-4.2 cases per 100,000 in men and women, respectively). Age-adjusted mortality rates per 10,000 cases of gastric cancer decreased significantly, from 7.21 in 1990 to 5.46 in 2007, in the total population. The 5-year relative survival showed a slight increase for both men and women. There is a difference in the incidence and outcome of gastric cancer between the Jewish and Arab populations in Israel. The grim prognosis of gastric cancer patients in Israel is probably due to the advanced stage at which gastric cancer is diagnosed in Israel.

Demography, social prosperity, and the future of sovereign Israel

The expanding recognition of the two-state solution for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict ostensibly removes an immediate demographic threat to Israel that the Arab inhabitants between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River will soon outnumber the Jews. The demographic and social concern of maintaining the character of the State of Israel as the place where the Jewish people can realize their right to self-determination and can ensure a solid Jewish majority should be directed inward. Israel also wishes to continue to be a prosperous and developed country. This paper examines the changing proportions and characteristics of specific population subgroups and their effect on Israel's future as a Jewish and prosperous state. Further it argues that the demographic composition does not allow Israel to accept the demand for the ‘right of return’ whereas the two-state solution should involve the settlement of the Palestinian refugees in the new Palestinian state. The article discusses broader meanings of the demographic dimension for the Jewish and Arab populations in Israel.

Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Among the Arab Population in israel from 1970 to 2006

Israeli Arabs are considered as a developing society characterized by poverty and high levels of smoking among men. The purpose of this study was to describe their incidence, mortality and survival rates for oral and pharyngeal cancer between the years 1970-2006. Studies such as this in the Arab world, where the population is almost the same as the Arab population in Israel, are rare. The incidence and survival data were derived from all relevant registered data at the National Cancer Registry. The group of lesions included cancer of the lips, tongue, buccal mucosa, floor of the mouth, salivary glands, gums, palate and pharynx. Morphological description was according to WHO classification. Most diagnosed patients were male. The mean age was 54.4 years, and mean years of survival were 3.83. The oropharynx was the most common site (28.3%) while the palate was the least frequent (3.12%). Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was the most common histological feature (66.3%), while basal cell carcinoma (BCC) was the least (3.9%). The overall 5 years survival rate was 59.4%, this being highest for BCC (82.1%), while SCC was significantly lower (56.2%) (p<0.001). Lip cancers survived better than other sites. Data from this society are similar to other developing societies in the majority of the results. The incidence of oral and pharyngeal cancer is lower among the Arab population, in comparison to the Jewish population in Israel.

Processes of conservation and change in Arab society in Israel: Implications for the health and welfare of the Arab population

Azaiza F. Processes of conservation and change in Arab society in Israel: Implications for the health and welfare of the Arab populationThis article reports on a study that examined how modernisation processes affect the Arab citizens of Israel on various levels and how the processes are reconciled with traditional ideals. Modernisation affects formal and informal support systems, affects family lifestyles, has resulted in changes in the treatment of elderly people and has seen modern ideas of health and wellness incorporated with traditional values and ideals. For the Arab citizens of Israel, the conflict of tradition versus modernisation is evident throughout society. Studying the processes of both modernisation and preservation and their implications allows us to better understand and address the needs of the Arab population in Israel. Based on the research presented in this review, processes of modernisation and conservation are conceptualised as a continuum along four dimensions: perceptions of self, sources of social support, health roles and gender roles. The implications of these changes are explored as they relate to various phenomena.

Arab Parents' Attitudes toward Out-of-Home Placement of Their Adult Children with Psychiatric Disability

Background: The decision of out-of-home placement for the Arab population is a very stressful event that sometimes causes a real crisis situation for them, because of cultural assumptions and attitudes against placement. The tradition in the Arab culture is to take care of their offspring at home, no matter how serious the situation is. Mental health is also a case of chronic illness and it is very important for us to understand who are those who are willing to place their adult child and what the factors are that make them to do this decision. Better understanding will lead to better use of the services that the state offers them. The rate of placement in Arab society remains significantly lower than among the Jewish population of Israel. The aim of this study was to examine the attitudes of Arab parents who have an adult son or daughter with a psychiatric disability toward out-of home placement. Method: A convenience sample of 189 parents of adult children with a mental disability from the Arab population of Israel. The questionnaires included were assessing social support, emotional stress, cognitive appraisal of the situation, and various socio-demographic characteristics. Results: Parents who chose home placement reported being in a better financial position and were more religious than parents who chose out-of-home placement. Parents who chose to care for their children at home had a significantly higher perception of this as a challenge. The decision regarding the child's placement appears to depend mainly on the parents' education and financial situation. Conclusions: Financial situation, social support and perceiving the illness as a challenge are the most important factors in the process of the decision.

High frequency of autosomal‐recessive DFNB59 hearing loss in an isolated Arab population in Israel

Autosomal-recessive non-syndromic hearing impairment (DFNB) is usually of prelingual onset with a moderate to profound degree of hearing loss. More than 70 DFNB loci have been mapped and ~40 causative genes have been identified. Non-syndromic hearing impairment caused by mutations of DFNB59 (encoding pejvakin) has been described in a couple of families in which affected individuals presented with either auditory neuropathy or hearing loss of cochlear origin. We have identified and clinically evaluated three consanguineous families of Israeli Arab origin with prelingual non-syndromic hearing impairment and absent otoacoustic emissions in a total of eight affected individuals. All the families originate from the same village and bear the same family name. We have identified a c.406C>T (p.R136X) nonsense mutation in the DFNB59 gene in affected individuals from these families. Among the inhabitants of the village, we found an exceptionally high carrier frequency of ~1 in 12 individuals (7/85; 8.2%). The high prevalence of hearing impairment can be explained by a founder effect and the high consanguinity rate among the inhabitants of this village.

Individual and Familial Determinants of Married Arab Israeli Women's Labor Force Participation: Trends of Change and Stability

Although the Arab population in Israel has undergone important economic and social changes in the past decades, the labor force participation of Arab women, particularly married women, has remained limited. This study uses census data to learn about the individual and familial factors associated with the entry into paid work of married Arab women and examines the extent to which these factors have changed over time. A major advantage is that the study distinguishes between the Muslim, Christian, and Druze populations, who markedly differ in their demographic, social, and cultural characteristics. Results from logistic regression models and standardization analyses reveal that the growth in employment experienced by Arab women was associated with the increasing education of both wives and husbands. However, the returns to education significantly decreased over time, particularly among Druze women, suggesting it has become more difficult for highly educated women to find employment. Results further show that the growth in employment experienced by Muslim and Christian women was related both to a decline in fertility and to a decrease in the negative returns to having children. Overall, findings underscore the structural barriers that limit Arab Israeli women's employment opportunities and raise concerns about their future occupational prospects.

Hannah Arendt 'After Modernity'

As one of the most incisive political philosophers of the post-war epoch, Hannah Arendt is well known for her critical reflections on anti-Semitism and the limitations of humanism; violence and revolutionary politics; morality and evil; judgement; and the aetiology of genocide and totalitarianism. Her reflections on the collapse of the public sphere and the loss of the shared human way of experiencing the world in the face of totalitarian state bureaucracies are no less valuable for confronting the destruction of the welfare state in contemporary western democracies today than they were for addressing the genealogy of totalitarianism in early twentieth-century Europe. What is more, Arendt's reflections on the nation state and human rights from the standpoint of the refugee, and her critique of the superfluity of human life associated with mass culture and society have proven to be very fertile ground for contemporary thinkers such as Giorgio Agamben, Judith Butler, Paul Gilroy, Julia Kristeva, Jacqueline Rose and Edward Said (among others). To take one example, Arendt's observation in The Origins of Totalitarianism that the figure of the refugee is a subject who is deprived of the right to have rights, and as a consequence of the right to representation, has clear resonances in the contemporary geopolitical conjuncture. For Arendt, being deprived of the right to make public statements or hold opinions suggests that the stateless have no rhetorical space as legal subjects; they are, as Susannah Young-ah Gottlieb aptly puts it, 'statementless'. (1) And by denying the stateless rights that were deemed to be inalienable according to the language of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the state revealed that human rights for the stateless were in practice contingent upon the sovereignty of a given political community. Indeed, it is the failure of human rights discourse to protect the rights of the stateless that prompts Arendt to resort to the use of a performative contradiction in which she, as a member of the stateless population she describes, declares that the refugee is denied the right to have rights. In so doing, Arendt asserts the right to have rights (such as the right to make speech acts) in spite of the state's denial of such rights to the stateless. What is more, Arendt's suggestion in The Origins of Totalitarianism that the formation of the state of Israel created another population of Palestinian refugees at the very moment it attempted to find a political solution to the Jewish refugee crisis certainly exemplifies her scepticism about the political efficacy of the nation state to protect the rights of the human subject. It is significant indeed that Arendt's 'break with Zionism was due in large part to the creation of a refugee population through the forced expulsion of the Arab population in Israel and the minority status of those Arabs who remained'. (2) With an uncanny prescience based on her own experience of statelessness as a German Jew who escaped from Nazi Germany, Arendt 'predicted nothing but violence for the inhabitants of the new state [of Israel], a violence perpetrated on the minority population in its midst'. (3) One of the most influential thinkers to have provoked a renewed interest in Arendt's thought in recent years is the Italian legal philosopher Giorgio Agamben. In a short commentary on Hannah Arendt's chapter 'The Decline of the Nation-State and the End of the Rights of Man' in her book The Origins of Totalitarianism, Agamben argues that 'the refugee is the sole category in which it is possible today to perceive the forms and limits of a political community to come'. (4) For Agamben, the figure of the refugee calls into question the universal claims of human rights declarations by 'breaking up' the assumption that the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen includes human subjects who are not citizens. The refugee highlights the fiction that national belonging is guaranteed by nativity or birth, and thereby 'throws into crisis the original fiction of sovereignty'. …

Ethnic Variations in Acute Ischemic Stroke: Findings from the National Acute Stroke Israeli Survey (NASIS)

Background: We intended to determine ethnic differences in the characteristics, management and outcome of acute ischemic stroke between the Israeli Arab and Jewish populations. Methods: A national survey was conducted in 2004 at all 28 hospitals in Israel. Information on demographics, transportation, risk factors, clinical presentation, stroke severity, type and subtype, management and clinical outcome was obtained. Mortality during the 36 months after hospitalization was assessed by matching with national mortality data. Results: Of the 1,540 patients, 169 (11%) were Arabs and 1,371 (89%) were Jews. The mean age of Arab patients was 9 years younger than in Jewish patients (63 ± 11 vs. 72 ± 12 years). Also, Arabs were more likely to be obese (OR = 1.72; 95% CI: 1.19–2.50) and have diabetes (OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.01–1.96), while Jews were more likely to have dyslipidemia (OR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.11–2.17). A greater percentage of the Arab patients arrived at the hospital independently (OR = 3.85; 95% CI: 2.56–5.56) and were less likely to arrive within 3 h of symptom onset (OR = 2.33; 95% CI: 1.39–3.85). Arabs suffered increased rates of lacunar stroke (OR = 1.67; 95% CI: 1.14–2.43) and were discharged home more often (OR = 2.40; 95% CI: 1.35–4.25). No differences in severity of stroke, management, complications, disability or mortality were found between the 2 groups. Conclusions: The unique characteristics of the Arab and Jewish populations should be considered when planning stroke-care services and culturally oriented public education programs.

How Rare Is Rare? Carrier Frequencies for Fanconi Anemia In the United States and Israel

AbstractAbstract 2229 Background:Although carrier frequencies for Fanconi anemia (FA) have been estimated for several founder populations, carrier frequencies in different countries remain unclear. One exception is Israel. In Jewish populations, founder mutations have been identified, e.g. the FANCC IVS+4 A>T mutation in Ashkenazi Jews, and the FANCA 2172–2173insG mutation in Moroccan Jews. The ability to test for specific mutations has enabled screening studies: the carrier frequency in Israeli Ashkenazi Jews is around 1:85; limited available data suggest that carrier frequencies in other Israeli Jewish subgroups may be similar (Tamary et al. BJH 2000). FA also occurs in Israeli Arab populations but carrier frequencies have not been determined. In contrast, there are much less data for the United States (US). Swift (Nature 1971) estimated the US FA carrier frequency as 1:300, but this estimate was based on surprisingly limited data - in total, the 12 persons with FA born in New York State from 1956 until 1967 who were known to the author among the corresponding total of 4.2 million live births. Nonetheless, this figure remains widely cited and has not been updated even after 40 years. We sought to update this estimate given the biological importance of the FA pathway. Methods:We applied Swift's approach (knowledge of the number of FA cases born during a given period with a known overall birth rate) to contemporary data for the United States and Israel. Specifically, we used the Hardy-Weinberg Law and demographic data from the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund (FARF, 488 FA) and the Israeli Fanconi Anemia Registry (ISFAR, 66 FA). Results:On average during the 1990s, 15 persons with FA were born each year in the US who eventually became known to the FARF, amongst the 4.0 million persons born each year in the US during that period. The corresponding Hardy-Weinberg carrier frequency is 1:257 (95% Confidence Interval: 1:240 – 1:277). This range describes a lower bound because ascertainment in FARF must be less than 100%. Even so, the lower confidence limit is significantly greater that 1:300. The true ascertainment in FARF is unknown. We propose that values between 40% – 60% are plausible. Using this range to adjust the observed birth incidence upwards, we obtained a plausible range for the carrier frequency of 1:156 – 1:209 [midpoint 1:182]. We applied the same approach to the ISFAR where 2.6 births per year were observed. We assumed 50% – 100% ascertainment by ISFAR since cases were identified through a country-wide hospital network. For the entire country of Israel (Jews and non-Jews combined), we obtained a plausible range for the carrier frequency of 1:66 – 1:128 [midpoint 1:93]. Hence, the range for Israel derived using Swift's indirect approach (estimated from birth rates) is broadly consistent with direct surveys. Conclusions:The FA carrier frequency in the US may be higher than previously thought, around 1:200 or perhaps even higher. From the perspective of population genetics, our results suggest there is less difference between the average carrier frequency in the US and higher carrier frequencies of around 1:100 reported for a number of ethnic groups including Ashkenazi Jews. This is consistent with the facts that the general US population is heterogeneous mixture of descendents of many ancestral groups, and FA is found world-wide. Our results also suggest that some European populations may have higher carrier frequencies than currently recognized. Our findings are sensitive to a number of assumptions. Going forwards, large scale re-sequencing studies could more precisely determine how many persons in the general population carry causative alleles for FA and other rare recessive syndromes. Disclosures:No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Combining the representation approach with the framing concept: Television news coverage of the Arab population in Israel during conflict

This article examines the portrayal of Israel’s Arab population in the Hebrew media, with particular attention to coverage by the national television channels of two violent incidents: events surrounding the first Land Day (30 March 1976) and events of the protests in October 2000, at the start of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Our purpose is twofold: first, to explore how Israeli Arabs are portrayed during violent conflict, and, second, to examine the means of presentation in terms of a time frame, in accordance with the view that the presentation process is dynamic. The research relied primarily on qualitative analysis of media content, but attention was also paid to the quantitative aspects of the coverage. Here we used two complementary theories — the representation approach and the framing concept. At the core of both these theories lies the constructionist approach, which serves as their point of origin.