impact of consanguinity on childhood blindness and partial sight among Jordanians

ABSTRACT

The causes of childhood blindness vary among countries and communities; however, in Jordan, the predominant cause is genetic inheritance. In a survey of two generations of Jordanians, little change was noted in the etiology of visual handicaps. While acquired causes of blindness have decreased, the incidence of inherited blindness does not seem to have changed. A high rate of autosomal recessively inherited diseases and unusual patterns of occurrence were noted. The prevalence and patterns of consanguinity in Jordan have just recently been surveyed. Results showed a high incidence of consanguineous marriages-one of the highest in-breeding coefficients reported in the literature-that was not decreasing even among young university graduates. Although social and economic developments in recent years have generated improvements in health parameters, the incidence of childhood blindness and other heritable disorders in Jordan will not be reduced unless traditional and cultural habits are altered