Consanguinity: Cultural, religious and social aspects

Consanguinity is defined as marriage between blood relatives and is commonly used to describe relationships that include up to second cousin marriages (Bittles, 1994). At a biological level, consanguineous unions may increase the risk in the homozygous state in their children... (Modell and Darr, 2003). This might be reflected in relatively higher probability of an autosomal recessive inherited disease and certain types of congenital malformations. However consanguinity does not increase the risk of autosomal dominant or X-linked disorders. Studies on consanguinity have focussed on the probable higher risk of prenatal or postnatal mortality and/or morbidity due to congenital malformations and/or intellectual disability (Bundey and Aslam, 1993).... This chapter provides an overview of the prevalence and types of consanguineous unions in South-West Asia, the psychosocial and cultural factors associated with the marriage choice in general and cousin unions in particular. The issue of a small excess of genetic risk attributable to consanguinity versus cultural preferences for such unions is discussed. The feasibility of genetic screening and provision of counselling for high-risk families within the context of existing health cares service delivery systems in the Indian subcontinent is reviewed.