Consanguineous marriages in a Saudi population and the effect of inbreeding on prenatal and postnatal mortality.

Consanguineous marriages are strongly favoured in the Saudi population. A population-based study of consanguineous marriages was conducted in the Riyadh area. The prevalence rate of consanguineous marriages was 51.3% with an average inbreeding coefficient of 0.02265, which is high compared with many other countries. The most important variables affecting inbreeding were the regional background of the family (p < 0.001) and the level of education, which was inversely associated with consanguineous marriage (p < 0.001). Perinatal and postnatal mortalities were not significantly different between consanguineous and non-consanguineous families.