title: Trends in the frequencies of consanguineous marriages in the Israeli Arab community.
abstract: To assess the trends in the frequency of consanguineous marriages in the Israeli Arab population in the last 40 years, we conducted a two-part study. For the first part, we re-analyzed data from a nationwide study carried out in 1992, and for the second part, we undertook a new survey in 1998 in four locations: Taibe, Tira, Kalansuwa and Kafr Bara. Data regarding the frequency of consanguineous marriage in these four locations for the years 1961-1985 was extracted from the original survey, and for the years 1986-1998, from new questionnaires. The frequency of consanguineous marriage was highest in the period 1961 1965 (50.6%), but by the period 1981-1985 it had decreased to 40.6%. Over the whole time span of the 1992 study, a significant decrease was observed between the periods 1961-1975 and 1976-1985 (p < 0.0001). In the four-location study, there was a significant decrease in the frequency of consanguineous marriage from 52.9%, in the period 1961-1970 to 32.8% in the period 1991-1998 (p = 0.0006). We conclude that the custom of consanguineous marriage in the studied population is still extremely high, and preventive measures should be taken to decrease its frequency and associated complications.
authors.affiliation: The Bridge to Peace Community Pediatric Center, Taibe, Israel.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jaber
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Halpern
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shohat
mesh_terms: D018912:Arabs; D003241:Consanguinity; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires