sniffy
Senior Reporter
http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=...niversity%20ave
In another study done as part of the 1990/1991 Pakistan Demographic
and Health Survey, data were collected from approximately 26,000 births,
and the effects of consanguinity on mortality (while controlling for other
factors) measured (Annals of Human Genetics, Mar '97). Inbreeding at the
level of the first cousin exerted a significant adverse effect on survival
into childhood. A study from the Aga Khan University in Karachi, showed
a 40% increase in the incidence of low-birth weight babies in offspring
of related parents compared to babies born to non-related parents. The
Annals of Human Biology concluded that the widely favored practice among
Pakistanis, at home and abroad, of marriage between close r
elatives may
be a contributor factor in their comparatively unfavorabl
e health profile.
Researchers in Europe and America have realized what a gold mine the
Pakistani population is - for identifying the basis of many genetic diseases.
Thalessemia, a disorder of hemoglobin production and anemia is the most
common one (approximately 1 in 25 individuals in Pakistan carries this
gene), but just a cursory search of recent literature identified a laundry
list of exotic sounding diseases (Combined Factor V-Factor VIII deficiency,
familial aplasia/hypoplasia of pelvis, non-syndromic deafness, retinitis
pigmentosa, muscular dystrophies and so on).
In another study done as part of the 1990/1991 Pakistan Demographic
and Health Survey, data were collected from approximately 26,000 births,
and the effects of consanguinity on mortality (while controlling for other
factors) measured (Annals of Human Genetics, Mar '97). Inbreeding at the
level of the first cousin exerted a significant adverse effect on survival
into childhood. A study from the Aga Khan University in Karachi, showed
a 40% increase in the incidence of low-birth weight babies in offspring
of related parents compared to babies born to non-related parents. The
Annals of Human Biology concluded that the widely favored practice among
Pakistanis, at home and abroad, of marriage between close r
elatives may
be a contributor factor in their comparatively unfavorabl
e health profile.
Researchers in Europe and America have realized what a gold mine the
Pakistani population is - for identifying the basis of many genetic diseases.
Thalessemia, a disorder of hemoglobin production and anemia is the most
common one (approximately 1 in 25 individuals in Pakistan carries this
gene), but just a cursory search of recent literature identified a laundry
list of exotic sounding diseases (Combined Factor V-Factor VIII deficiency,
familial aplasia/hypoplasia of pelvis, non-syndromic deafness, retinitis
pigmentosa, muscular dystrophies and so on).