New! International Perspectives
Introduction
Consanguinity is defined as the marriage between individuals who have a common ancestor. Many epidemiologic studies have examined consanguineous marriages and their health impact on offspring. Because related individuals share genes from a common ancestor, homozygosity is favored, and their progeny are more likely to have genetic disorders. Primarily, offspring of consanguineous parents are at a twofold greater risk than offspring of nonrelated parents for autosomal recessive disorders. (1)(2) Advances in genetics have led to a deeper understanding of the impact of inbreeding on the occurrence of genetic anomalies. Studies show that inbreeding is associated with mortality and morbidity in the fetal, neonatal, and childhood stages. Because consanguinity represents a risk factor for the occurrence of many deleterious outcomes, it is of major scientific and public health interest. This article summarizes the primary health-related adverse effects of consanguinity and discusses potential preventive measures.
Prevalence and Sociodemographic Aspects
Despite the adverse effects caused by consanguineous unions, such relationships still occur in many countries. Bittles (3) has illustrated the global prevalence of consanguineous marriage (Fig. 1). The prevalence can be divided into three major regions. The first region includes Western Europe, North America, Australasia, and Russia, where only 1% of marriages are consanguineous. The second region includes the Iberian Peninsula, Japan, and South America, where 1% to 10% of marriages are consanguineous. The third region includes most of North and sub-Saharan Africa as well as West, Central and South Asia, where 20% to 50% of marriages are consanguineous. The specific types and rate of consanguineous marriages vary between and within countries. In the Middle East, the overall rate of consanguineous unions varies between 21% in Lebanon (Ministry of Public Health, 1998) and up to 58% in Saudi Arabia. (4) The most common form of consanguineous unions practiced is between first cousins. The rate of …
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