Consanguinity and inflammatory bowel diseases:  is there a relation?
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between consanguinity and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).


METHODS
Review of the medical records of children with a final diagnosis of IBD to determine age, sex, and type of IBD, supplemented by information on consanguinity and family history (FH) of IBD in relatives. There were 138 children, ages 1.4 to 19.3 years, and 50% were girls.


RESULTS
The prevalence of consanguinity was 50%, 53%, 39% and 60% in IBD, Crohn disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and controls, respectively. There was a significantly higher prevalence of consanguinity in controls than in patients with IBD and UC (P = 0.02 and 0.026, respectively), whereas the difference between CD patients and controls was not significant (P = 0.20). The prevalence of first cousin consanguinity was 71%, 73.2%, 61.5% and 70.5% in patients with IBD, CD, UC, and controls, respectively, indicating no significant difference between these conditions and controls (P = 0.95, P = 0.78, P = 0.33, respectively). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of consanguinity in the parents of children with or without a FH of either CD (P = 0.89) or UC (P = 0.32).


CONCLUSIONS
There is no significant relation between parental consanguinity and IBD in this population, especially when there is no FH of disease, suggesting reduced genetic susceptibility; however, further studies including larger sample size and details of FH of consanguinity and IBD in multiple generations are needed for further definitions of the role of consanguinity.
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology, College of Medicine and King Khaled University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. drmouzan@gmail.com
Mohammad
M
El Mouzan
Mohammad
M
Al-Mofarreh
Asaad
A
Assiri
Yassin
Y
Hamid
Anjum
A
Saeed
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D003241:Consanguinity; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult