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ENDOGAMY, CONSANGUINITY AND THE HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGING MARITAL CHOICES IN THE UK PAKISTANI COMMUNITY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2016

Neil Small ,
Alan H. Bittles ,
Emily S. Petherick  and
John Wright
Neil Small*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Health Studies, University of Bradford, UK
Alan H. Bittles
Affiliation:
Centre for Comparative Genomics, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia
Emily S. Petherick
Affiliation:
School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, UK
John Wright
Affiliation:
Bradford Institute for Health Research, UK
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Summary

The biraderi (brotherhood) is a long-established, widely prevalent dimension of social stratification in Pakistani communities worldwide. Alongside consanguinity, it offers a route for cementing social solidarities and so has strong socio-biological significance. A detailed breakdown of biraderi affiliation among participants in an ongoing birth cohort study in the northern English city of Bradford is presented. There is historical resilience of intra-biraderi marriage, but with a secular decline in prevalence across all biraderi and considerable reductions in some. While a majority of marriages in all biraderi are consanguineous the prevalence varies, ranging from over 80% to under 60%. In consanguineous unions, first cousin marriages account for more than 50% in five of the fifteen biraderi and >40% in six others. Within-biraderi marriage and consanguinity enhance genetic stratification, thereby increasing rates of genomic homozygosity and the increased expression of recessive genetic disorders. The trends reported constitute putative signals of generational change in the marital choices in this community.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 49 , Issue 4 , July 2017 , pp. 435 - 446
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2016 

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