Recurrent early pregnancy loss and consanguinity in Omani couples

Consanguinity is common in Arab countries. The Sultanate of Oman has a relatively small population with a high prevalence of consanguineous marriages. This is a retrospective study of women who had three or more consecutive miscarriages between January 2002 and December 2008, investigated in the non-pregnant state. Age, parity, menstrual history, number of miscarriages, personal and family history, history of consanguinity and investigations were collected for 141 patients. The mean number of miscarriages was 3.4; 53% of the women had a consanguineous marriage, 42% were non-consanguineous and in 5% the marital interrelationship was unknown. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of parental karyotype abnormalities, anticardiolipin antibodies, antinuclear antibodies, thyroid disorders, or lupus between the consanguineous and non-consanguineous couples. Consanguinity appeared not to play a significant role in the etiology of recurrent spontaneous miscarriage.