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Consanguineous marriage and associated diseases among their children and grandchildren in India: evidence from large-scale data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2024

Sampurna Kundu Open the ORCID record for Sampurna Kundu [Opens in a new window]  and
Arup Jana Open the ORCID record for Arup Jana [Opens in a new window]
Sampurna Kundu
Affiliation:
Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India
Arup Jana*
Affiliation:
Department of Population & Development, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India
*
Corresponding author: Arup Jana; Email: arupjana0000@gmail.com
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Abstract

Worldwide, more than 130 million infants are born each year and a considerable number of 13.5 million of these children have inbred parents. The present study aimed to investigate the association between parents’ consanguinity and chronic illness among their children and grandchildren in India. The nationally representative data, Longitudinal Aging Study in India, 2017–2018, Wave 1 was used for the present study. Bivariate analysis, a probit model, and propensity score estimation were employed to conduct the study. The study observed the highest prevalence of consanguinity marriage in the state of Andhra Pradesh (28%) and the lowest in Kerala (5%) among the south Indian States. People who lived in rural areas, belonged to the richer wealth quintile and Hindu religion were the significant predictors of consanguinity marriage in India. For individuals who were in consanguineous marriages, there was 0.85%, 0.84%, 1.57% 0.43%, 0.34%, and 0.14% chances of their children and grandchildren developing psychotic disorders, heart disease, hypertension stroke, cancer, and diabetes, respectively. Moreover, around 4.55% of the individuals have a history of birth defects or congenital disorders. To address the risk of complicated illnesses due to the consanguinity of marriage, medical, genetic, and social counselling services are required.

Keywords

consanguineous marriagechildrenbirth defectpsychotic disordersLongitudinal Aging Study in India
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 56 , Issue 4 , July 2024 , pp. 796 - 808
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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