The changing pattern of consanguinity in a selected region of the Israeli Arab community

Abstract

The prevalence of consanguinity within the Israeli Arab community is relatively high, and is associated with high rates of inherited disorders that lead to a high frequency of morbidity and mortality. Data on consanguinity between couples were recorded during two periods (1980-1985 and 2000-2004) in relation to socioeconomic status of 4 selected villages. Two of the villages (A and B) are known to have high socioeconomic status, and the other two (C and D) are known to have low socioeconomic status. The average incidence of consanguineous marriages has slightly decreased from 33.1% in the first period to 25.9% in the second period (P = 0.0218) in all of the 4 villages. Marriages between first cousins showed a more significant decrease, from 23.9% in the first period to 13.6% in the second period (P < 0.0001). The average consanguinity rates of villages A and B were found to decrease from 22.3 to 16.2% respectively (P < 0.001) between the two observation periods, whereas those of villages C and D were found to decrease from 42.3 to 37.2%, (P < 0.001) during the same two periods. Thus, there has been a change in the pattern of consanguinity within the selected Israeli Arab villages, between the two study periods. This change seems to correlate with the sociodemographic status of the villages. Therefore, improving the socioeconomic status of the villages, as well as implementation of proper health education programs, is expected to have a positive effect in reducing consanguinity.

Prevalence of consanguineous marriages and associated factors among Israeli Bedouins

“…The mean inbreeding coefficient (F) in the present study was 0.0238. This is higher than the reported figure in a national sample of nonBedouin Arabs (F=0.192) (Jaber et al 1994) and in four selected Arab villages between 2000 and 2004 (F ranged from 0.004906 to 0.016452 according to the village) (Sharkia et al 2008).…”

Variations in Types of First-Cousin Marriages over a Two-Generation Period among Arabs in Israel

“…The results obtained in this study are in accordance with other previous studies (Na 'amnih et al, 2015;Sharkia et al, 2008). In a comparative study among three generations from Jordan, it was found that the first-cousin marriage rate also declined with time (Hamamy et al, 2005).…”

“…A similar decline in the rate of consanguineous marriages was also reported in our previous research work conducted on four selected villages of the Israeli Arab community (Sharkia et al, 2008). Furthermore, other studies on Arab societies revealed a decline in the prevalence of consanguineous marriages e.g.…”

“…Similar to other Arab societies, the Israeli Arab community is known to have a high frequency of consanguineous marriages and has preferred the first-cousin marriage type (Sharkia et al, 2010;Sharkia et al, 2008). Despite the presence of many studies that have investigated consanguinity in the Israeli Arab community, to the best of our knowledge, no previous study has been conducted for exploring the prevalence and trends of the first-cousin marriage types of two generations over a long period of time.…”

Consanguinity and Its Effect on Morbidity and Congenital Disorders Among Arabs in Israel

“…The prevalence of consanguineous marriages in the Arab world is considered to be much higher (35% -55%) as compared to Western countries (~1%) (Bittles, 2001;Jaber et al 1998). Recently, different studies of various Arab societies have shown that the consanguinity rates decrease with time (Hamamy et al, 2005;Khlat, 1988;Sharkia et al, 2008). Consanguinity rates in various societies were found to be dependent on multiple factors e.g.…”