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A Register‐Based Study of Diseases With an Autosomal Recessive Origin in Small Children in D enmark According to Maternal Country of Origin
Author(s) -
Gundlund Anna,
Hansen Anne Vinkel,
Pedersen Grete Skøtt,
Villadsen Sarah Fredsted,
Mortensen Laust Hvas,
BrøndumNielsen Karen,
Andersen AnneMarie Nybo
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
paediatric and perinatal epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.667
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3016
pISSN - 0269-5022
DOI - 10.1111/ppe.12195
Subject(s) - consanguinity , medicine , danish , pediatrics , offspring , etiology , consanguineous marriage , demography , hazard ratio , disease , pregnancy , genetics , confidence interval , pathology , biology , philosophy , linguistics , sociology
Background Compared with children born of D anish mothers, the mortality of children, born and living in D enmark, is significantly increased in those with a mother from A fghanistan, I raq, P akistan, S omalia, and T urkey. Consanguinity has been suggested to account for part of this disparity. Since information on consanguinity is lacking, this suggestion is difficult to test. With an indirect approach, we addressed this question by comparing the risk of diseases with autosomal recessive inheritance in children born in D enmark of D anish‐born women and of women born in these five countries, respectively. Methods All children born in D enmark (1994–2010) were followed until 5 years of age or end‐of‐study period for the risk of hospitalisation with diseases of autosomal recessive aetiology, and therefore considered consanguinity‐related. Diagnoses of autosomal recessive diseases were identified using two different methods: a literature review of consanguinity‐associated diseases and a search in the O nline C atalogue of H uman G enes and G enetic D isorders. Risks were also calculated for diseases with known non‐autosomal recessive aetiology (considered non‐consanguinity‐related). We estimated adjusted hazard ratios for the diseases in children of foreign‐born women compared with children of D anish‐born women. Results Compared with offspring of D anish‐born women, the risk of a consanguinity‐related disease was significantly increased in children of foreign‐born women, although the absolute risk was low. The risk of non‐consanguinity‐related diseases did not differ between the groups compared. Conclusions The findings support the hypothesis that consanguinity accounts for some, however a minor part, of the disparity in child mortality among migrants in D enmark.