Consanguineous Marriages in the American PopulationArner, George B. Louis (George Byron Louis)
Science
Consanguineous Marriages in the American Population
Arner, George B. Louis (George Byron Louis)
Consanguinity -- United States
It will be noted that the greatest proportion is in the case of
scrofula.
Since it is probable that a part of those who did answer the question
as to consanguinity are in fact the offspring of cousins, the
percentage in each case should be somewhat increased. Allowing for
these the same proportion as for those who did answer the question we
should have of all the blind 4.47 per cent as the offspring of
cousins; of the totally blind 4.14 per cent and of the partially blind
4.88. While of the congenitally blind we should have 14.7 per cent as
offspring of cousins.
It is interesting to note in this connection that in 1900, Dr. Lee
Wallace Dean, of the University of Iowa examined the 181 blind
children in the Iowa College for the Blind, and found that 9 or nearly
5 per cent were the offspring of first cousin marriages.[78] Dr. Dean
continues,
If we exclude from the list those blind children who were blind
because of blennorrhea neonatorum, sympathetic opthalmia,
trachoma, etc., and consider only those who suffered because of
congenital conditions, we should find that 14 per cent were the
result of consanguineous marriage of the first degree....
Among the pupils who have entered the college since 1900 the
percentage is about the same.
[Footnote 78: _Effect of Consanguinity upon the Organs of Special
Sense_, p. 4.]
This was written in 1903, three years before the publication of Dr.
Bell's report.
Statistics from foreign sources give even larger percentages of the
blind as the offspring of consanguineous marriage. Dr. Feer quotes
fourteen distinct investigations of the etiology of retinitis
pigmentosa, embodying in all 621 cases, of which 167 or 27 per cent
were the offspring of consanguineous parents.[79] Retinitis pigmentosa
is perhaps more generally attributed to consanguineous marriage than
any other specific disease of the eye, and it is to be regretted that
the Census report does not give any data in regard to this cause.
Retinitis pigmentosa in known to be strongly inheritable, as is
albinism and congenital cataract.
[Footnote 79: _Der Einfluss der Blutsverwandschaft der Eltern auf die
Kinder_, p. 14.]
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