Inbreeding in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean (Quebec, Canada): a study of Catholic Church dispensations 1842-1971.
Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean (SLSJ) is a rather geographically isolated region of Quebec which shows a high occurrence of hereditary disorders. It has been suggested that high inbreeding might explain this situation. We studied the inbreeding in the SLSJ region by 10-year periods from 1842 till 1971 using the Catholic Church dispensations. The values of the mean inbreeding coefficient were found to be low during the whole period, reaching a peak of 22.94 x 10(-4) during the period 1902-1911. The values observed in the SLSJ were lower than those found in most regions of Quebec and similar to those reported in European populations.
De Braekeleer
M
M
Département des Sciences Humaines, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Canada.
Ross
M
M
D002410:Catholicism; D003241:Consanguinity; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D011792:Quebec; D012042:Registries