title: Consanguinity and isolated atrial septal defect in North East of Iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The rate of consanguineous marriage is high in Middle Eastern countries such as Iran. The relationship between consanguineous marriage and congenital heart disease is discussed in some studies, but there is not much data for relationship between atrial septal defect (ASD) and consanguineous marriage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between consanguineous marriage and ASD echocardiographic characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional study approved by Mashhad University of Medical Sciences ethics committee and took place in Mashhad, Iran, for a period of 3 years from August 2008 till September 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study, 113 ASD patients participated and they were categorized into 3 groups on the basis of family relationship between their parents: first group-"no relationship," second group- "third degree relationship," and third group- "far relationship."
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 54 male and 59 female ASD patients, the most prevalent type of ASD was ASD secundum (85.0%) followed by sinus venosus (8.8%). A total of 56% patients were present in the first group and 15% and 29% in the second group and the third group, respectively." The relationship between consanguinity and type of ASD (P < .001) and gender (P < .001 each) was observed. The relationship between the age of onset of disease and consanguinity (P=.003) was also observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Considering the fact that there is a high prevalence of ASD and consanguineous marriage in Iran and bearing in mind the results of the present study, we recommend educating couples about the outcomes of consanguineous marriage in pre-marriage counseling.
authors.forename: Hasan Mottaghi
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Moghaddam
authors.affiliation: Ali Jafarzadeh Esfehani, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz,, 50300,Kuala Lumour, Malaysia, T: +60 10 4230327-00989153168951, dr_a_jafarzadeh@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Reza Jafarzadeh
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Esfehani
authors.forename: Nader Yazdan
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Panah
authors.affiliation: Ali Jafarzadeh Esfehani, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz,, 50300,Kuala Lumour, Malaysia, T: +60 10 4230327-00989153168951, dr_a_jafarzadeh@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ali Jafarzadeh
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Esfehani
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003241:Consanguinity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004452:Echocardiography; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D010375:Pedigree; D015995:Prevalence