CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGE IN TURKEY AND ITS IMPACT ON FERTILITY AND MORTALITY

Turkey has a high rate of consanguineous marriage (21.1%); indicating strong preference for this traditional form of marital union. Social a nd cultural factors are especially important in marriages between firs t and second cousins. Fertility is high, the closed birth interval is long, and the sterility rate is low among these couples. Post-neonatal , infant and under-5 mortalities are high in first cousin unions by co mparison with non-consanguineous marriages. According to the results o f the study, first cousin marriage is a significant determinant underl ying the high total fertility and infant mortality rates in Turkey.