title: Consanguinity and deafness in Omani children.
abstract: This study was based on a national retrospective analysis of 1400 questionnaires on the causes of deafness in Omani children, collected from 1986 to 2000. It was found that 70% of the deaf children were from parents of consanguineous marriages, and 30% from non-consanguineous unions. In those with consanguineous families 70.16% were first cousin marriages, 17.54% were second cousins, and 10.86% were from the same tribe. The proportion arising from first cousin marriages was higher than the background rate of first cousin marriages in Oman. In the total cohort, 45% had other family members with hearing loss. There was a greater chance of other relatives being affected in the consanguineous group as opposed to the non-consanguineous group (29.7% versus 15.3%). In most cases the affected relative was a deaf sibling (67.8%). We have demonstrated a higher rate of consanguinity amongst parents of deaf children in Oman and suggest this is associated with a higher frequency of autosomal recessive deafness in this paediatric population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery and Communication Disorders, Al Nahdha Hospital, Sultanate of Oman. nadiamaz@omantel.net.om
authors.forename: Mazin Al
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Khabori
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Patton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003241:Consanguinity; D003638:Deafness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005808:Genes, Recessive; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009850:Oman / Q000453:epidemiology; D010375:Pedigree; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors