I personally would never marry one of my cousins. Simply no. Overall rate of consanguineous marriages in Turkey is 20 to 23 percent, which is still too high. But there is one important factor that should be taken into consideration when we're talking about these kind of marriages in Turkey.
CMs are much more common in Eastern Turkey than in Western Turkey. Regions with high Kurdish population numbers are regularly showing a higher rates of CMs.There is a clear gap between Turks and Kurds.
The frequency of consanguineous marriage in eastern Turkey.
Akbayram S1,
Sari N,
Akgün C,
Doğan M,
Tuncer O,
Caksen H,
Oner AF.
Author information
Abstract
The frequency of consanguineous marriage in Eastern Turkey:
OBJECTIVE:
The rate of consanguineous marriage (CM) varies depended on different factors such as race, characteristics of population, and religion and moral features in different countries. Gene frequency and genetic structure are changed by CMs. The aim of the present study is to assess the prevalence of CM and its effects on miscarriage, stillbirth, congenital malformation and ratio of newborn death.
METHODS:
This study was performed in Van region, Eastern Turkey, between September 2005 and April 2006. A total of 650 families from 24 districts chosen in accordance with the number of inhabitants were included in this study. First cousin marriages were accepted as a first degree CMs, sesquialter and second cousin marriages as second degree and marriages between distant relatives were accepted as a third degree CM. Monthly income of the families was classified in accordance with minimum wage determined by government.
RESULTS:
Of all families, 224 (34.4%) had CM, and 168 (75%) had first-degree consanguinity. A lower CM rate was found in mothers who graduated from secondary school or upgrading (p < 0.01). However, no relationship was found between CM and fathers' education level. While a low CM rate was found in families who had two or less children (p < 0.01), high rate was observed in families who had five or more children. In addition, a high rate of miscarriage, stillbirth and mental-motor retardation was found in families with CM (p < 0.05). The rate of child mortality between the aged 0-2 years was found to be higher in families with CM (p < 0.01). The higher CM rate was observed in families who married due to pressure or insistence of their families than married voluntarily (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSION:
Our study showed that CM rate was very high, 34.4%, in our region Eastern Turkey.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19852426
Abstract
Medical Anthropology: Pathological Effects of Consanguineous Marriages
Consanguineous marriages are characteristic features of particularly the
traditional system. Furthermore they are significant fields of anthropology/ medical
anthropology in terms of the fact that they set forth the analysis between culture and
health. In this respect, consanguineous marriages and their auses are examined
anthropologically in frontier villages of Akçakale and Reyhanlı where these kinds of
marriages are frequently observed. The sample of the study includes 153 families,
68 of which are from the four villages of Akçakale in Şanlıurfa and 85 of which are
from the four villages of Reyhanlı in Hatay. While consanguineous marriages of the
sample group Reyhanlı district is 88.2 %, consanguinity rate of the sample group
Akçakale district is 72 %. The main reason leading to this can be counted as a
social-cultural factors (attributed to the role within the community, economic
concerns...) and geographical factors. The frequency of space-borne disases owing
to consangineous marriage in Akcakale research field is 27.9 % but this frequency
is 41 % in Reyhanlı research area.
http://dergiler.ankara.edu.tr/dergiler/26/1668/17804.pdf
Thank God, figures for cousin marriages are declining since years. People are becoming increasingly critical towards marriage concepts within the family.
There are changing secular profiles in the rates of consanguinity in general and of the specific sub-types of cousin marriages in particular in Turkey.
The prevalence of first cousin marriages among all consanguineous marriages presents a steady decline from one marriage cohort to the next. The changes observed over time may be attributable to several factors such as the increase in educational level of women, the nuclearization of the family system, the mobility from rural to urban settings, a better socioeconomic status of families, an increase in women’s labour force participation in formal sectors, lower fertility rates resulting in a smaller number of cousins available for marriage, and an increased awareness of the effects of consanguineous unions on child health in cases where there is an inherited recessive disease in the family. Any attempts to discourage consanguinity at the population level appear to be inappropriate and undesirable, especially when the consanguineous union remains an integral part of the cultural and social life of Turkey. Nevertheless the WHO-recommended approach to minimizing the negative effects of consanguinity on child health should be followed, i.e. the identification of families with a high risk of a genetic disease and the provision of prospective genetic counselling.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/jour...in-turkeydiv/F6155359B6474D47AF7A5DCEBA49F3B8
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