title: [Frequency of consanguineous unions in the Tlemcen area (West Algeria)].
abstract: In order to describe consanguineous unions and their effects in a sample of the Algerian population, we interviewed 3,983 couples in a hospital and from urban and rural areas near Tlemcen. We observed that unions between cousins represented 34.0% of the marriages. The frequency of unions between relatives was lower in the urban (30.6%) than in the rural areas (40.5%). This difference can be explained by changing custom and family relationships in urban areas, and is evidenced by social and anthropologic factors and the attitude towards consanguineous unions.
authors.affiliation: Institut des sciences de la nature, BP 119, Université A.-Belkaid, 13000 Tlemcen, Algérie. S_ZAOUI@mail.univ-tlemcen.dz
authors.forename: Salah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zaoui
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Biémont
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000462:Algeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D003241:Consanguinity; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D012424:Rural Population; D012924:Social Conditions; D014505:Urban Population