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Frequency of consanguinity and its effect on congenital malformation--a hospital based study
1Department of Paediatric Surgery, Military Hospital, Rawalpindi.
Insights
Consanguineous marriage, or inbreeding, was highly prevalent in this study of 5,000 military families. Children of related parents showed a significantly higher prevalence of congenital malformations.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Public Health
- Human Reproduction
Background:
- Consanguineous marriage is a significant factor in genetic inheritance patterns.
- Understanding the prevalence of inbreeding and its health implications is crucial for public health initiatives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of consanguineous marriage within a sample of Armed Forces families.
- To investigate the association between consanguineous marriage and the occurrence of hereditary gross (physical) malformations in offspring.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a consecutive sample of 5,000 families from Armed Forces personnel.
- Calculation of inbreeding frequency and coefficient.
- Comparison of congenital malformation rates between children of related and unrelated parents.
Main Results:
- The study found an inbreeding frequency of 76% with a coefficient of 0.04151, potentially the highest reported.
- Congenital malformations occurred in 40% of children from related parents versus 26% from unrelated parents (p < 0.01).
- First-cousin marriages showed a highly significant association with malformation prevalence (p < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- High rates of consanguineous marriage were observed in the studied population.
- Consanguineous unions are significantly associated with an increased prevalence of congenital malformations.
- Inter-marriage with first cousins poses a particularly high risk for hereditary physical defects.
Abstract:
A consecutive sample of 5,000 families of Armed Forces personnel was analysed to study the prevalence of consanguineous marriage and its effect on the prevalence of hereditary gross (physical) malformations. The overall frequency of inbreeding was 76% with a coefficient of 0.04151 which is probably the highest figure reported in literature. The overall prevalence of congenital malformations in children of related parents was 40% (1530 out of 3820) and in non-related parents 26% (305 out of 1180) (p = < 0.01). Considering the prevalence of malformations with the types of relationship of parents, the inter-marriage with first cousins, alone, was highly significant (p = < 0.01).