Prevalence of consanguineous marriages among Iranian Georgians
Rafiee, L.; Saadat, M.
Journal of Biosocial Science 43(1): 47-50
2011
ISSN/ISBN: 1469-7599 PMID: 20584350 DOI: 10.1017/s0021932010000295Document Number: 625391
Consanguineous marriage--marriage between relatives--has received a great deal of attention as a potential risk factor for many adverse health outcomes. The present cross-sectional study was done in order to illustrate the prevalence and types of consanguineous marriages among Iranian Georgians living in Frydoonshahr (Isfahan province, central Iran). Data on consanguineous marriages were collected using a simple questionnaire. The total number of couples in this study was 646. Consanguineous marriage was classified by the degree of relationship between couples. First cousin marriages (14.2%) were the most common type of consanguineous marriages, followed by second cousin (7.0%), beyond second cousin (1.5%) and first cousin once removed (0.6%). The mean inbreeding coefficient (α) was calculated as 0.0104 for the population. The present study shows that the study population, as other Iranian populations, has a high level of consanguinity.