Regional variations in the prevalence of consanguinity in Saudi Arabia

To report on the prevalence of consanguinity in each region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia including the variation in prevalence between urban and rural settlements.

The study was conducted over 2 years (2004-2005). A cross-sectional sample determined by multistage random probability sampling of Saudi households from each of the 13 regions of the Kingdom. As part of survey questionnaire, the mother of each household was asked on the relationship to her husband to choose one of 3 answers: first-degree cousin, more distant relationship, or no relation.

The overall prevalence of consanguinity was 56% with the first-degree cousin (33.6%) being more common than all other relations (22.4%). The overall prevalence was significantly more common in rural (59.5%) than in urban settlements (54.7%) (p=0.000). There are regions with high prevalence of 67.2% such as Madina, and regions with significantly lower prevalence of 42.1% such as Al-Baha (p=0.000).

The national prevalence of consanguinity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains high. In addition, there are significant variations in the prevalence of consanguinity between certain regions as well as between rural and urban settlements that should be taken into consideration in further studies.