How does genetic risk influence reproductive and marital decisions by British Pakistanis, among whom marriage to relatives such as cousins may be preferred?

Among British Pakistanis, marriage to relatives such as first cousins may be preferred, as a means of reducing the social risks of marriage outside the family. Yet biomedical research has shown that consanguineous marriage to ‘blood relatives’ such as first cousins increases the risk of genetic disorders. This presents challenges not only to UK Pakistani couples who are currently having or hoping to have children, but also to doctors who provide genetic services, as Alison Shaw and Jane Hurst are finding out.

Infant mortality and childhood morbidity rates are higher among British Pakistanis than other ethnic groups. The various reasons for this include consanguineous marriage, which increases the risk of recessive genetic disorders. But adverse birth outcomes among British Pakistanis are not always the result of consanguineous marriage, and marrying relatives does not always result in the birth of children with recessive disorders.

A new study

The problem that faces clinicians is how to deliver genetic services without stigmatizing British Pakistanis on the basis of their marriage pattern. Very little is known about the social impact of genetic risk information on reproductive decision making and processes of marriage arrangement. With funding from a Wellcome Trust Biomedical Ethics grant, Dr Shaw, a social anthropologist at the Ethox Centre, and Dr Hurst, a consultant clinical geneticist at the Churchill Hospital, Oxford, aim to find out.

For more information on this project contact Dr Alison Shaw