ABSTRACT
Several studies have indicated that compared to non-familial marriage, familial marriage would increase the incidence of congenital abnormalities. Since the rate of consanguinity marriage is high in our country, this study was performed to determine the prevalence of congenital anomalies between familial and non-familial marriage. For this analytic descriptive study, 928 couples were participated as the population of this investigation. Of them, 358 were familial-marriage couples and 570 were non-familial-marriage couples. We evaluted the variables such as parents age, familial and non-familial marriage rate and rates of congenital abnormalities between both groups. Both the questionnaire and face to face interview technique were applied in this study. Congenital anomalies were identified in 26 [7.26%] children of familial marriage group and 11[1.92%] ones in non-familial marriage group. The average rate of consanguineous marriage in this study was found to be 38.57%. Considering that the rate of congenital anomalies in familial marriage was more than that of non-familial marriage, it seems that it is essential to consult and teach families and young couples about the risks of familial marriage