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Continuous decrease of consanguineous marriages among arabs in israel
Author(s) -
Na'amnih Wasef,
RomanoZelekha Orly,
Kabaha Ahmed,
Rubin Liza Pollack,
Bilenko Natalya,
Jaber Lutfi,
Honovich Mira,
Shohat Tamy
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.22610
Subject(s) - consanguinity , consanguineous marriage , demography , wife , medicine , genetic counseling , population , residence , offspring , public health , pediatrics , pregnancy , genetics , biology , sociology , nursing , political science , law
Objectives To describe the trend in the rate of consanguineous marriages among the Israeli Arab population and to identify factors associated with this custom shift in recent years. Methods The study was conducted between November 2009 and January 2010 in Family Health Centers. A questionnaire was presented to parents during routine visits to the center with their children. Results Information on 6,437 couples was collected. The rate of consanguineous marriages decreased from 35.8% among those married before 2000, to 28.2% among those married in 2000–2004, and to 24.0% among those married in 2005–2009 ( P for trend <0.001). First cousin marriages were the most common type of consanguineous marriages in all the time periods. Consanguineous marriages were associated with consanguinity between the couples' parents (both husband and wife), a high consanguinity rate in the place of residence and younger age at marriage (wife). Conclusions The rates of consanguineous marriages among Israeli Arabs are decreasing but still high. Because consanguineous marriages are widely acceptable, the role of public health professionals and primary care personnel is to provide comprehensive information about the potential genetic risks of consanguinity on offspring health and to increase the accessibility of premarital and preconception counseling services. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 27:94–98, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.