Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare (Nov 2023)

Assessment of Perceptions and Predictors Towards Consanguinity: A Cross-Sectional Study from Palestine

  • Ghanim M,
  • Mosleh R,
  • Hamdan A,
  • Amer J,
  • Alqub M,
  • Jarrar Y,
  • Dwikat M

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 3443 – 3453

Abstract

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Mustafa Ghanim,1 Rami Mosleh,2 Anas Hamdan,3 Johnny Amer,4 Malik Alqub,4 Yazun Jarrar,5 Majdi Dwikat4 1Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine; 2Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine; 3Department of Anesthesia and Resuscitation Technology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine; 4Department of Allied and Applied Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine; 5Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt, JordanCorrespondence: Mustafa Ghanim, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, P.O Box: 7, Nablus, Palestine, Email [email protected] Malik Alqub, Department of Allied and Applied Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, P.O Box: 7, Nablus, Palestine, Email [email protected]/Aim: Consanguinity represents a biological relationship between two individuals. In clinical genetics, it specifically refers to the marriage between individuals who are second cousins or closer. The aim of the study is to assess perceptions and their predictors among the Palestinian population towards consanguinity.Methods: A survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample was collected using convenience and snowball sampling methods, yielding a sample of 1008 participants. The perceptions towards consanguinity and its predictors were assessed using Chi-square test.Results: The prevalence of consanguinity among married participants was 18.7% (N = 81/432), while it was 28.8% among their parents. Consanguinity rate was significantly low among the young age group (ie, 0.05). Rejection of consanguinity was significantly noted among young age participants, absence of parental consanguinity, the presence of children or family members with genetic disorders and female gender (P < 0.001). Furthermore, participants who indicated that they are governmental employees, those with 2000– 5000 ILS monthly income, those who are married (P < 0.01), and those who indicated that their mothers are holders of postgraduate degree were significantly more likely to reject the idea of consanguinity (P < 0.05). Also, medical and/or scientific reasons were significantly associated with rejecting the idea of consanguinity (P < 0.001).Conclusion: Consanguinity prevalence has decreased among recent generations in Palestine, but it remains a significant challenge in Palestine. Therefore, educational and awareness programs about consanguinity and its health effects are effective strategies for reducing the consanguinity rate, especially for persons who are at the age of marriage.Keywords: consanguinity, perceptions, awareness, genetics, health effects

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