Language barriers to studying medicine in English: perceptions of final-year medical students at the Arabian Gulf University.

BACKGROUND: English is the language of instructions in many medical schools in the Arab world. Its use may create a language barrier and adversely affect an individual's learning and later professional life. AIMS: This study examined the views of final-year Arab medical students of a language barrier and its effect on their learning and academic performance, and their language preference for medial education. METHODS: All final-year medical students (n = 142, 62% females) at the Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain, were invited to respond to a self-completed questionnaire. Differences in responses according to English proficiency and sex were assessed. RESULTS: Of the 142 students, 99 (70%) responded. Most students did not feel a language barrier irrespective of their proficiency in English (P = 0.088). Most respondents did not think that language issues made studying more difficult, although there was a significant difference in responses between students considered proficient in English and those less proficient (P = 0.005). Most students (82%) were not aware or were not sure of medical terms in Arabic, but 66% were confident that they would be able to communicate with patients in Arabic. About half of the students (51%) supported medicine being taught only in English and 36% supported teaching in Arabic and English. CONCLUSIONS: Most students thought that learning in English did not affect their academic learning and performance. However, a good proportion supported being taught medicine in Arabic and English.

Prevalence of antinuclear antibodies in healthy Lebanese subjects, 2008-2015: a cross-sectional study involving 10,814 subjects.

Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are found at varying frequencies in healthy populations, depending on geographical location and ethnic background of participants. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of ANA in healthy Lebanese population in the period 2008-2015. Study subjects comprised 10,851 individuals (3311 males and 7503 females). ANA positivity was determined using immunofluorescence on HEp-2 cells. The prevalence of positive ANA test at a titer of ≥1:100 was 26.4 %, with 696 individuals (6.4 %) having titers exceeding 1:100. Most ANA-positive cases were recorded between 2013 and 2015, which reflected increased assay sensitivity. ANA positivity was associated with increased age and with female gender. Significant increases in ANA positivity were seen with advanced age, with steady increases from the 30- to 40-year age group through the >70-year age group, with significantly higher prevalence noted in female participants. There was a steady and significant reduction in the number of ANA-positive cases with higher ANA titers, which ranged from 20.0 % (1/100) to 3.7 % (1/320), 1.7 % (1/640), and 1.1 % (1/1000). While 45 % of low ANA titer was seen in 31-60-year age category, compared with 19.8 % for 61+ year category, the distribution of high ANA titer was more uniform between 31+ year age categories, which ranged from 11.4 % (31-40 years) to 12.4 % (>70 years). This was consistently and significantly higher in female participants. The prevalence and distribution of ANA among Lebanese individuals were comparable to the rates established for Western countries and confirm the contribution of female gender and advanced age to ANA positivity.