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PREVALENCE OF CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGES AMONG SHI'A POPULATIONS OF LEBANON

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

GHADIR EL-KHESHEN  and
MOSTAFA SAADAT
GHADIR EL-KHESHEN
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
MOSTAFA SAADAT
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
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Summary

In genetics, a consanguineous marriage means union between couples who are related as second cousins or closer. The present cross-sectional study was carried out in order to illustrate the prevalence and types of consanguineous marriages in the Shi'a population living in widespread territories in Lebanon including the Bekaa Valley, the south of Lebanon and the southern suburb of Beirut. Data on types of marriages were collected using a simple questionnaire. The total number of couples in the study was 1203. Consanguineous marriage was classified by the degree of relationship between couples. The overall frequency of consanguinity was found to be 28.4%, with first cousin marriages (21.3%) being the most common type followed by first cousins once removed (5.5%), then double first cousins (0.8%). The frequencies of second cousin and beyond second cousin marriages were the same at 0.4% of all the marriages. The mean inbreeding coefficient (α) was estimated at about 0.0161 for the population. There were no significant differences between the three studied territories for frequencies of different types of marriages (p>0.1), nor were there significant differences between the rural and urban areas (p>0.1).

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 45 , Issue 5 , September 2013 , pp. 675 - 682
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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