Consanguineous marriage as socio-medical problem

Despite the availability of a large amount of scientific data on the negative impact of consanguineous marriages on the health of children born in such families, the significance of this problem is not decreasing in a number of countries.

Aim. Analysis of the modern scientific base on the problem of consanguineous marriages, assessment of their impact on the development of a particular pathology in children.

The article reflects the position of modern clinical recommendations, the results of recent studies, and some controversial and unresolved issues. Despite the emerging trend of declining consanguineous marriages in recent decades, this problem involves at least 20% of the population and dozens of countries around the world. The prevalence of consanguineous marriages in the world varies significantly, ranging from 0.1-0.4% in the United States and European countries to more than 50% in North Africa, the Middle East and West Asia. The most common form of consanguineous marriage is a marriage between first cousins. In general, rural residents who have a lower level of education are more likely to enter into consanguineous marriages.

Conclusion. Despite a number of positive social and economic aspects of consanguineous marriages, from the point of view of genetics and medicine, it is necessary to take into account the negative impact of consanguineous marriages, which consists in an increased genetic risk to offspring and a high incidence of congenital pathology in newborns. An assessment of the socio-demographic aspects of consanguineous marriages shows that their greater prevalence is often due to poor economic conditions, lack of education, and low social security.