[Epidemiology of congenital malformations in Bolivar City, Venezuela. Analysis of the consanguinity factor].
The proportion of consanguineous matings and average inbreeding coefficients were established and compared in a sample of families with incidence of malformed newborns or stillborns as well as in paired normal controls. All children were born at the Ruiz y Páez Hospital in Ciudad Bolívar between april 1978 and june 1990. The samples included 2406 normal newborns (No), 2403 malformed newborns (Ma) and 50 malformed stillborns. The second sample was subdivided into 1934 with a single malformation (Mo), 315 with polimalformations (Po), 77 cases with Down syndrome (Do) and 77 with malformations of the central nervous system (SNC). Statistically significant differences were found in the frequency of consanguineous matings for the Ma, Po and Do groups when compared to the No group. A higher proportion of first cousins matings among parents of the Po and Do groups was found at F = 1/16, F = 1/64 and 1/32, in that order. A statistically significant absence of type I first cousins matings and a non significant predominance of type II first cousins matings were found, which might be pointing out to particular ways of mating behavior in this population, related to socio-cultural custom. Average F values for the No group were found to be similar to others reported for Venezuelan and Latin-American populations. Studies like this, help in providing basic parameters for the venezuelan population genetics.
Moreno-Fuenmayor
H
H
Unidad de Genética Médica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Champin
J
J
Alvarez-Arratia
M
M
Sánchez
O
O
D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D003241:Consanguinity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D014687:Venezuela / Q000453:epidemiology