Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Department of Public Health, Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
BMC Womens Health. 2022 Apr 14;22(1):118. doi: 10.1186/s12905-022-01704-2.
Pakistan has been showing consistently the highest prevalence of consanguinity. The popularity of consanguineous marriages is not declining in the country, because of social, cultural, and religious beliefs as well as economic advantages. However, couples also face various health-related implications, such as poor pregnancy outcomes or multiple reproductive and fertility consequences, having adverse effects on mothers and their children. This research investigated the trend of consanguineous marriages and their association with women's reproductive health and fertility behavior in Pakistan from 1990 to 2018.
This study is based on secondary data analysis, using all four waves of the Pakistan Demographic Health Surveys carried out from 1990 to 2018. The analysis is limited to women aged 15-49 years, who had given birth in the previous five years preceding each survey. Sampling weights were calculated and subsequently weighted analysis was conducted. Descriptive statistics, bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis were performed to determine the association of consanguinity with multiple characteristics related to socio-demographics, co-variates, and women's reproductive health and fertility behaviors.
The findings revealed a high but overall stable trend of consanguinity prevalence of about 63% during the last three decades. Consanguineous marriages were more prevalent amongst young and uneducated women, living in rural areas, with poorer wealth status and having less exposure to mass media to access information. A strong association of consanguinity was observed with women's reproductive health and fertility behavior, particularly for women who gave first birth at a younger age, had multi-gravida pregnancies, multi-parity, pregnancy termination, ANC visits, and higher fertility.
Consanguineous marriages are predominant in the patriarchal society of Pakistan. Findings revealed that consanguinity contributes significantly to women's reproductive health and fertility behaviors. Appropriate counseling, educational, and health promotional programs related to consanguinity should be designed and launched at the community level to raise awareness about risks towards women's reproductive health and fertility.
巴基斯坦的近亲结婚率一直居高不下。由于社会、文化和宗教信仰以及经济利益的影响，该国的近亲结婚率并没有下降。然而，夫妻双方也面临着各种与健康相关的问题，例如不良的妊娠结局或多次生殖和生育后果，这对母亲及其子女都有不良影响。本研究调查了 1990 年至 2018 年期间巴基斯坦近亲结婚的趋势及其与妇女生殖健康和生育行为的关系。
本研究基于二次数据分析，使用 1990 年至 2018 年进行的四次巴基斯坦人口健康调查的数据。分析仅限于 1990 年至 2018 年期间年龄在 15-49 岁之间、在前一次调查前五年内生育过的妇女。计算了抽样权重，并进行了加权分析。采用描述性统计、双变量和多变量逻辑回归分析，确定近亲结婚与社会人口统计学、协变量以及妇女生殖健康和生育行为的多个特征之间的关联。
研究结果显示，在过去三十年中，近亲结婚的比例一直很高，但总体上相对稳定，约为 63%。在年轻和受教育程度较低、居住在农村地区、财富状况较差、较少接触大众媒体获取信息的妇女中，近亲结婚更为普遍。近亲结婚与妇女的生殖健康和生育行为密切相关，尤其是对于生育年龄较小、多胎妊娠、多胎次、妊娠终止、产前护理就诊次数较多和生育能力较高的妇女。
近亲结婚在巴基斯坦的父权制社会中很普遍。研究结果表明，近亲结婚对妇女的生殖健康和生育行为有显著影响。应在社区层面设计和开展与近亲结婚相关的适当咨询、教育和健康促进计划，提高人们对妇女生殖健康和生育风险的认识。
