Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T11:56:51.108Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Prevalence and pattern of consanguineous marriage among educated married individuals in Riyadh

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2019

Samira M. Mahboub Open the ORCID record for Samira M. Mahboub [Opens in a new window] ,
Alanoud A. Alsaqabi ,
Noura A. Allwimi ,
Dana N. Aleissa  and
Basmah A. Al-Mubarak
Samira M. Mahboub*
Affiliation:
College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Alanoud A. Alsaqabi
Affiliation:
College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Noura A. Allwimi
Affiliation:
College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Dana N. Aleissa
Affiliation:
College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Basmah A. Al-Mubarak
Affiliation:
College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
*
*Corresponding author. Email: healthylife804@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Consanguineous marriage is preferred in many countries, especially by Muslims. Despite the increasing education rate in Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of consanguineous marriage does not seem to be decreasing as quickly as expected. The present study aimed to investigate the current prevalence of consanguineous marriage among educated married adults in Riyadh and to determine the factors favouring it. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017–18 using an online questionnaire. A total of 550 questionnaires were sent to married adults of both sexes and 417 responded, giving a response rate of 75.8%. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first section asked for demographic data such as age, sex, educational level, residential area and family size. The second part was about consanguineous marriage and its degree if present, family history of consanguineous marriage and level of awareness of its potential negative impact on offspring. It was found that the prevalence of consanguineous marriage among the participating educated adults was 39.8% and most of these were married to a first cousin. Neither level of education nor age affected the likelihood of consanguineous marriage, but predictors for the practice among the educated participating adults were having a family history of consanguineous marriage, having consanguineous parents and having a personal preference for consanguineous marriage. In conclusion, the prevalence of consanguineous marriage among educated adults in Riyadh was still high in 2018, especially among first-cousin relatives, and this was related to family history and personal preference rather than educational level or age. It is recommended that further research is conducted to assess the level of knowledge about, and attitude towards, consanguineous marriage among adults in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords

Consanguineous marriagePracticeBehaviour
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 52 , Issue 5 , September 2020 , pp. 768 - 775
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019

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

Al-Abdulkareem, A and Ballal, S (1998) Consanguineous marriage in an urban area of Saudi Arabia: rates and adverse health effects on the offspring. Journal of Community Health 23(1), 75–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alsuwaida, N (2016) Women’s education in Saudi Arabia. Journal of International Educational Research 12(4), 111–118.Google Scholar
Bakoush, O, Nicholls, M and Denic, S (2016) Selection of kin for spouse: importance of socioeconomic status, reputation and beauty. Journal of King Saud University – Science 28(4), 286–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Becker, SM, Al Halees, Z, Molina, C and Paterson, R (2001) Consanguinity and congenital heart disease in Saudi Arabia. American Journal of Medical Genetics 99(1), 8–13.3.0.CO;2-U>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bittles, AH (2008) A community genetics perspective on consanguineous marriage. Community Genetics 11(6), 324–330.Google ScholarPubMed
Bittles, AH, Grant, JC and Shami, SA (1993) Consanguinity as a determinant of reproductive behaviour and mortality in Pakistan. International Journal of Epidemiology 22(3), 463–467.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
El-hazmi, M, Al-Suwailem, A, Warsy, A, Al-Suwailem, A, Sulaimani, R and Al-Meshari, A (1995) Consanguinity population the Saudi Arabian. Journal of Medical Genetics 32, 623–626.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
El-Mouzan, M, Al-Salloum, A, Al-Hebish, A, Qurachi, M and Al-Omar, A (2007) Regional variations in the prevalence of consanguinity in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Medical Journal 28(12), 1881–1884.Google ScholarPubMed
General Authority for Statistics (2016) Demographic Research Bulletin, p. 204. URL: https://www.stats.gov.sa/sites/default/files/ar-demographic-research-2016_5.pdf (accessed 20th September 2017).Google Scholar
Hafez, M, El-Tahan, H, Awadalla, M, El-khyat, H and Abdelgafar, A (1983) Consanguineous matings in the Egyptian population. Journal of Medical Genetics 20(1), 58–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamamy, H (2012) Consanguineous marriages. Preconception consultation in primary health care settings. Journal of Community Genetics 3, 185–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Husain, MA and Bunyan, MA (1997) Consanguineous marriages in a Saudi population and the effect of inbreeding on prenatal and postnatal mortality. Annals of Tropical Paediatrics 17(2), 155–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Islam, MM, Ababneh, FM and Khan, MH (2018) Consanguineous marriage in Jordan: an update. Journal of Biosocial Science 50(4), 573–578.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jaouad, I, Elalaqui, S, Spiti, A and Elkerh, F (2009) Consanguineous marriages in Morocco and the consequence for the incidence of autosomal recessive disorders. Journal of Biosocial Science 41(5), 575–581.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Joseph, N, Pavan, K, Ganapathi, K, Apoorva, P, Sharma, P and Jhamb, J (2015) Health awareness and consequences of consanguineous marriages. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health 6(2), 121–127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Khoury, S and Massad, D (1992) Consanguineous marriage in Jordan. American Journal of Medical Genetics 43(5), 769–775.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nouri, N, Nouri, N, Tirgar, S, Solimani, E, Yazdani, V, Zahedi, F and Larjeni, B (2017) Consanguineous marriages in the genetic counseling centers of Isfahan and the ethical issues of clinical consultations. Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine 10(1), 10.Google ScholarPubMed
Saeed, U and Piracha, Z (2016) Thalassemia: impact of consanguineous marriages on most prevalent monogenic disorders of humans. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease 6(10), 837–840.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tadmouri, G, Nair, P, Obeid, T, Ali, M, Khaja, N and Hamamy, H (2009) Consanguinity and reproductive health among Arabs. Reproductive Health 6(1), 1–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warsy, A, Al-Jaser, M, Albdass, A, Al-Daihan, S and Alanzi, M (2014) Is consanguinity prevalence decreasing in Saudis? A study in two generations. African Health Sciences 14(2), 314–321.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zaini, R (2016) Sickle-cell anemia and consanguinity among the Saudi Arabian population. Archives of Medicine 8(3), 2–4.Google Scholar