Patricia Christina Balla 1 , Samson Sanjeeva Rao Nallapu 2
BACKGROUND While consanguineous marriages enforce family solidarity and reduce the possibilities of hidden uncertainties, studies show that they are critical predictors of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Obstetricians are faced with consanguineous couples anxious to know the anticipated health risks to their offspring. This study is set to describe the magnitude of consanguinity in an urban population and to identify the effects of consanguinity in terms of congenital malformations and other health issues. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was conducted in the Nallacheruvu area of Guntur city of Andhra Pradesh from June to September 2016. A house to house survey was done in an urban community of Guntur district and all the women with under-five children were identified. A pre tested self-designed structured questionnaire was administered after obtaining informed consent. Couples biologically related as second cousins or closer were classified as consanguineous. The data collected was entered and analysed in MS excel and is presented in tables. Important findings were subjected to tests of significance like Chi Square test at 5% Level of significance. RESULTS Of the 583 women enumerated, 81.3% were in a non-consanguineous marriage and the rest 18.7% were in a consanguineous marriage. Muslim families were less in favour of consanguineous marriages compared to the Hindu and Christian families and this difference is statistically significant (p value 0.009). There were no instances of consanguineous marriages among the ST families. It was seen that larger families; had a higher level of consanguinity. More of the children born to consanguineous parents were having chronic illnesses (7.5%) compared to the nonconsanguineous (4.1%). Number of episodes of illness in the year was found be more in the children of consanguineous parentage (p 0.03). CONCLUSION The effect of consanguinity in terms of child morbidity is a real threat in our communities. The establishment of more population and hospital based registries will help identify the true prevalence of congenital malformations due to consanguinity. Premarital genetic counseling or counseling prior to conception should be made freely available.
