Abstract
Congenital and genetic ocular disorders are linked to parental consanguinity. The aims was to investigate the effects of consanguineous marriages on the refractive errors of preschool-aged and adolescent patients. Two sample groups were recruited: the preschooler group (3–6 years; 335 participants) and the adolescent group (12–20 years; 998 participants). The required sample size was calculated using a sample size estimation software. Visual acuity was measured using the 15-line Lea symbols chart in the pre-school aged group and non-illuminated ETDRS VA chart in the adolescent group. Spherical equivalent refractive errors were noted with near-retinoscopy technique in young children and with the ARK-30 autorefractor in the adolescent group. In order to explore the impact of consanguineous marriages, the data were analyzed separately based on the age group using SPSS version 21 software. In the preschooler group, myopia was found in 4.2%, hyperopia in 8.1%, and astigmatism in 20%. Three children had high myopic scores (-10.00 D, -13.50 D and -17.50 D). In the adolescent group, 45.6% participants were myopic, 3.8% were hyperopic, and 22.3% were astigmatic. Despite the higher frequency of RE in those 15 years and older in the cousins group and the consanguineous parents of the three preschool-aged children with high myopia, there were no statistically significant (<i>p</i>>0.05) evidence that consanguineous marriages impact the refractive errors of their children. In conclusion, despite previous studies showing a link between ocular genetic or congenital disorders and consanguinity, no such link could be established with regard to refractive errors.
Highlights
Marriages between couples biologically related as second cousins or closer are considered as consanguineous relationships. [1, 2] Consanguineous marriages are a deeply rooted social culture among 20% of the world’s population. [1, 2] This culture is mostly located in the Middle East, West Asia, and North Africa. [3, 4] it is found among emigrants from these communities who reside in North America, Europe, and Australia
[5] In Saudi Arabia, the consanguinity rate is predicted to be greater than 50%. [6,7,8,9,10,11] This high rate could be due to the belief that consanguinity may strengthen family ties, enforce family solidarity, provide an excellent opportunity for the transmission of cultural values and cultural continuity, and allows a better relationship between the in-laws. [12, 13]
Health care providers and genetics specialists have concerns that consanguineous marriage could have an impact by increasing the genetic risk of the offspring. [13,14,15] It has been suggested that when compared to non-consanguineous marriages, consanguinity showed a higher fertility rate, the same rate of abortions, slightly higher infant mortality rates, and slightly higher frequency of birth defects
Summary
Marriages between couples biologically related as second cousins or closer are considered as consanguineous relationships. [1, 2] Consanguineous marriages are a deeply rooted social culture among 20% of the world’s population. [1, 2] This culture is mostly located in the Middle East, West Asia, and North Africa. [3, 4] it is found among emigrants from these communities who reside in North America, Europe, and Australia. [3] In the Middle East, consanguinity constitutes 20–50% of all marriages; they seem to be more favorable in these communities. [5] In Saudi Arabia, the consanguinity rate is predicted to be greater than 50%. [6,7,8,9,10,11] This high rate could be due to the belief that consanguinity may strengthen family ties, enforce family solidarity, provide an excellent opportunity for the transmission of cultural values and cultural continuity, and allows a better relationship between the in-laws. [12, 13]. [3] In the Middle East, consanguinity constitutes 20–50% of all marriages; they seem to be more favorable in these communities. Consanguineous unions lead to increased expression of autosomal recessive disorders. Due to the autosomal recessive disorders, it have been suggested that the risk of birth defects in firstcousin marriages may be 2–2.5 times more than that in the. Ali Mazyed Alsaqr: Relationship Between Consanguineous Marriages and Incidence and Severity of Refractive Errors: A Cross-sectional Study general population. [35] Further, an autosomal recessive disorder (e.g., retinitis pigmentosa) could be more common finding in populations where consanguinity is more prevalent. Even though consanguineous marriages are a widespread culture in the middle east, little is known about the effect of this factor on the presence of REs in their offspring when compared to children of non-consanguineous parents. This study presented here was part of a bigger population studies that have been discussed and published elsewhere. [42, 43]
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