Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T16:20:05.990Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

PATTERN OF CONSANGUINITY AND INBREEDING COEFFICIENT IN SARGODHA DISTRICT, PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2014

SAIRA HINA
Affiliation:
Human Genetics Program, Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
SAJID MALIK*
Affiliation:
Human Genetics Program, Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Summary

Consanguinity is widespread in Pakistan. The majority of studies on consanguinity in Pakistan have been carried out in urban metropolitan areas, and data on rural populations are scarce. The present cross-sectional study was conducted in Sargodha district, upper Punjab, Pakistan where the majority of the population reside in rural areas. A random sample of 1800 married females belonging to six tehsils of Sargodha district was obtained and differentials in consanguinity rates and inbreeding coefficient (F) were investigated. The consanguinity rate was calculated to be 56.72% and the inbreeding coefficient was 0.0348. First cousin unions had the highest representation (49.11% of all marriages), and marriages up to distantly related/Biradari constituted 67.94% of all marriages. Among the six tehsils, consanguinity rates ranged from 50.38% in Bhalwal to 62.88% in Sillanwali. A high rate of consanguinity was observed in subjects speaking the Punjabi language, those with self-arranged/arranged-love marriages and those engaged in professional jobs. With respect to the occupation of husbands the highest consanguinity rate was found among landowners (77.59%; F=0.0539) and businessmen (62.62%; F=0.0377). However, consanguinity did not appear to be associated with rural/urban origin or literacy level. The data showed a wide variation in consanguinity rate and inbreeding coefficient across socio-demographic strata in the Sargodha district population. A comparison of Sargodha with other populations of Punjab also showed regional heterogeneity in the pattern of consanguinity, warranting further studies.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arif, G. M. & Hamid, S. (2009) Urbanization, city growth and quality of life in Pakistan. European Journal of Social Sciences 10, 196215.Google Scholar
Bittles, A. H. (2010) Consanguinity, genetic drift, and genetic diseases in populations with reduced numbers of founders. In Speicher, M. R., Antonarakis, S. E. & Motulsky, A. G. (eds) Vogel and Motulsky's Human Genetics. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 507728.Google Scholar
Bittles, A. H., Grant, J. C. & Shami, S. A. (1993) An evaluation of consanguinity as a determinant of reproductive behaviour and mortality in Pakistan. International Journal of Epidemiology 22, 463467.Google Scholar
Hussain, R. & Bittles, A. H. (1998) The prevalence and demographic characteristics of consanguineous marriages in Pakistan. Journal of Biosocial Science 30, 261275.Google Scholar
Hussain, R. & Bittles, A. H. (2004) Assessment of association between consanguinity and fertility in Asian populations. Journal of Health Population and Nutrition 22, 112.Google Scholar
Jabeen, N. & Malik, S. (2014) Consanguinity and its socio-demographic differentials in District Bhimber, Azad Jammu Kashmir, Pakistan. Journal of Health Population and Nutrition 32(2), 301313.Google Scholar
Mian, A. & Mushtaq, R. (1994) Consanguinity in population of Quetta (Pakistan): a preliminary study. Journal of Human Ecology 5, 4953.Google Scholar
Population Census Organization (1998) District Census Report. Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.Google Scholar
Shami, S. A., Grant, J. C. & Bittles, A. H. (1994) Consanguineous marriages within social/occupational class boundaries in Pakistan. Journal of Biosocial Science 26, 9196.Google Scholar
Shami, S. A., Schmitt, L. H. & Bittles, A. H. (1989) Consanguinity related prenatal and postnatal mortality of the populations of seven Pakistani Punjab cities. Journal of Medical Genetics 26, 267271.Google Scholar
Shami, S. A. & Siddiqui, H. (1984) The effects of parental consanguinity in Rawalpindi city (Punjab), Pakistan. Biologia 30(2), 189200.Google Scholar
Shaw, A. (2001) Kinship, cultural preference and immigration: consanguineous marriage among British Pakistanis. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 7, 315334.Google Scholar
Sthanadar, A., Bittles, A. H. & Zahid, M. (2014) Civil unrest and the current profile of consanguineous marriage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. Journal of Biosocial Science 46, 698701.Google Scholar
Wahab, A. & Ahmad, M. (1996) Biosocial perspective of consanguineous marriages in rural and urban Swat, Pakistan. Journal of Biosocial Science 28, 305313.Google Scholar
Wahab, A., Ahmad, M. & Akram, S. S. (2006) Migration as a determinant of marriage pattern: preliminary report on consanguinity among Afghans. Journal of Biosocial Science 38, 315325.Google Scholar
Yaqoob, M. I., Gustavson, K. H., Jalil, F., Karlberg, J. & Iselius, L. (1993) Early child health in Lahore, Pakistan: II. Inbreeding. Acta Pediatrics 82 (Supplement 390), 1726.Google Scholar