Inbreeding effects on fertility and sterility in southern India
AUTOR(ES)
Rao, P. S. S.
RESUMO
The effects of consanguineous marriages on couples' fertility and sterility were explored through an interview survey of 20 626 women, chosen randomly from the rural and urban areas of the North Arcot District of Tamil Nadu State. Qualified women investigators obtained relevant information about reproductive performances of all married women resident in well defined rural and urban samples chosen randomly from North Arcot District. For each marriage, a family pedigree was drawn, extending upwards to two earlier generations on both sides of each spouse, in order to determine the existence and type of consanguinity involved. Of marriages in rural areas, 46·9% were consanguineous, and in urban areas, 29·1%. In more than 80% of the consanguineous marriages, the spouses were first cousins or more closely related. The extent of primary and secondary sterility and the level of fertility were examined in relation to each type of consanguineous marriage with the duration of the marriage and the age of the woman.
