Editing Inbreeding (section)

=== Prevalence ===
The general negative outlook and eschewal of inbreeding that is prevalent in the [[Western world]] today has roots from over 2000 years ago. Specifically, written documents such as the Bible illustrate that there have been laws and social customs that have called for the abstention from inbreeding. Along with cultural taboos, parental education and awareness of inbreeding consequences have played large roles in minimizing inbreeding frequencies in areas like Europe. That being so, there are less urbanized and less populated regions across the world that have shown continuity in the practice of inbreeding.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

The continuity of inbreeding is often either by choice or unavoidably due to the limitations of the geographical area. When by choice, the rate of consanguinity is highly dependent on religion and culture.<ref name="Tadmouri 2009" /> In the Western world, some [[Anabaptism|Anabaptist]] groups are highly inbred because they originate from small founder populations that have bred as a closed population.<ref name="k666">{{cite journal | last1=Agarwala | first1=Richa | last2=Schäffer | first2=Alejandro A. | last3=Tomlin | first3=James F. | title=Towards a Complete North American Anabaptist Genealogy II: Analysis of Inbreeding | journal=Human Biology | publisher=Wayne State University Press | volume=73 | issue=4 | year=2001 | issn=0018-7143 | jstor=41466828 | pages=533–545 | doi=10.1353/hub.2001.0045 | pmid=11512680 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41466828 | access-date=2024-08-25| url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Of the practicing regions, [[Cousin marriage in the Middle East|Middle Eastern and northern African]] nations show the greatest frequencies of consanguinity.<ref name="Tadmouri 2009" />

Among these populations with high levels of inbreeding, researchers have found several disorders prevalent among inbred offspring. In [[Lebanon]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Egypt]], and [[Israel]], the offspring of consanguineous relationships have an increased risk of congenital malformations, congenital heart defects, congenital [[hydrocephalus]] and [[neural tube defect]]s.<ref name="Tadmouri 2009" />  Furthermore, among inbred children in [[Palestine]] and Lebanon, there is a positive association between consanguinity and reported [[Cleft palate|cleft lip/palate]] cases.<ref name="Tadmouri 2009" />  Historically, populations of [[Qatar]] have engaged in consanguineous relationships of all kinds, leading to high risk of inheriting genetic diseases. As of 2014, around 5% of the Qatari population suffered from hereditary hearing loss; most were descendants of a consanguineous relationship.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Girotto G, Mezzavilla M, Abdulhadi K, Vuckovic D, Vozzi D, Khalifa Alkowari M, Gasparini P, Badii R | title = Consanguinity and hereditary hearing loss in Qatar | journal = Human Heredity | volume = 77 | issue = 1–4 | pages = 175–82 | date = 2014-01-01 | pmid = 25060281 | doi = 10.1159/000360475 | doi-access = free | hdl = 11577/3455561 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> In 2017-2019, congenital anomalies due to inbreeding was the most common cause of death of babies belonging to the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups in England and Wales.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Births and infant mortality by ethnicity in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/childhealth/articles/birthsandinfantmortalitybyethnicityinenglandandwales/2007to2019 |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref>