title: Family distances as a measure of hidden consanguinity. A reappraisal.
abstract: We compared the family distances of patients with autosomal recessive disorders with those of a random control group and a matched control group. Only in the great-grandparental generation were weak-significant differences found. We also found that the family distances of persons with an urban origin were significantly larger than those of persons with a rural origin. In our study, family distance seems to be a more powerful measure of hidden consanguinity than the parental distance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Swaving
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Groenewegen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kamstra
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: te Meerman
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: ten Kate
mesh_terms: D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000235:genetics*; D025063:Chromosome Disorders; D003241:Consanguinity; D005260:Female; D005808:Genes, Recessive; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010375:Pedigree; D015995:Prevalence; D011897:Random Allocation; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population