BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE OF CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGES IN RURAL AND URBAN SWAT, PAKISTAN

Consanguineous marriages in two population samples, one rural and one urban, from Swat (Pakistan) were studied. The frequency of consanguine ous marriages was found to be 37.13% and 31.11%, and mean inbreeding c oefficients were calculated as 0.0168 and 0.0162, for the rural and ur ban populations respectively. The most frequent type of marriage was b etween first cousins, in both samples. Among first cousin marriages, t hose with father's brother's daughter were predominant. Mean inbreedin g coefficient was higher for higher socioeconomic groups in both sampl es. Differences by ethnic and educational groups were also found. Cont rary to previous studies, a significant increase in the incidence of c onsanguineous marriages over the years has been observed. The incidenc e of premature mortality was significantly higher only in the offsprin g of first cousin marriages. Significantly higher incidence of morbidi ty in the offspring of consanguineous marriages was also observed.