Children whose parents are cousins more likely to suffer from depression
- Such individuals are three times more likely to take mood-disorder drugs
- They are more than twice as likely to be prescribed antipsychotic medications
- Previous findings reveal such offspring are more at risk of single-gene disorders
- Such conditions include cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease and Huntington’s
- Around one in 10 children worldwide have parents who are first cousins
Alexandra Thompson Health Reporter For Mailonline
3
View
comments
Children whose parents are cousins are around three times more likely to take medication for mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety, at some point in their lives, new research suggests.
Such individuals are also more than twice as likely to be prescribed antipsychotic drugs, which treat conditions like schizophrenia, an Irish study found.
The researchers did not speculate why children of closely related parents are more at risk of mental-health disorders, however, previous findings reveal such offspring are more likely to develop single-gene disorders.
Such conditions occur due to their parents inheriting specific DNA from a shared grandparent and include cystic fibrosis; sickle cell disease; Huntington’s; and Fragile X syndrome, which leads to learning difficulties and cognitive disabilities.
Around one in 10 children worldwide have parents who are second cousins or more closely related.
First-cousin marriages are legal in the UK and make up around one per cent of unions.
Yet past figures suggest as many as 18 per cent of marriages in Bradford are between such relatives, particularly in its large Pakistani community.
Children whose parents are cousins are around three times more likely to take medication for mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety, at some point in their lives (stock)
-
Goths, emos and moshers are up to six times more likely to…
Cancer patient, 63, has her uterus AND colon removed by…
Holidaymaker, 20, was left looking like a CHIPMUNK after her…
Fitness fanatic, 22, who has broken her bones 200 times due…
Results may be less alarming than they appear
The researchers, from Queen’s University Belfast, add the results may be less alarming than they appear.
For instance, seeing as a person’s lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia is between 0.3 and 0.66 per cent, a doubled risk for children of cousins takes their susceptibility to between 0.6 and 1.32 per cent.
This means there is around a 99 per cent chance individuals whose parents are first cousins will not require antipsychotic medication at any point in their lives.
In addition, as most people have a 10 per cent chance of suffering from depression at some stage, a tripled risk among children of first cousins takes their susceptibility to 30 per cent.
This means such individuals have a 70 per cent chance of never being prescribed antidepressants.
The researchers add single-gene disorders can also be rife in isolated communities even if relatives do not reproduce.
They add first cousins who are hoping to have children should be offered genetic counselling, which involves a specialist doctor explaining the various risks.
SHOULD COUSINS HAVE DNA TESTS BEFORE GETTING MARRIED?
Britain’s first Asian peer Baroness Shreela Flather
Britain’s first Asian peer Baroness Shreela Flather has previously made calls for British Pakistani communities to ensure cousins have DNA tests before getting married.
A former barrister who sits in the House of Lords, she shared her thoughts on the topic in 2015.
She said: ‘There are a lot of first-cousin marriages in certain communities, particularly among Pakistanis who come from the Pakistani Kashmir area.
‘We know so much about DNA now, but there is so much disability among the children, which is absolutely appalling.’
Baroness Flather also blasted parents for ‘allowing children to become disabled’ because of their social practise, which she believes does not belong in today’s social age.
She added: ‘There should at least be some rule which says that you must have a DNA examination before your marriage can be registered.’
Past findings reveal such offspring are more likely to develop single-gene disorders (stock)
How the research was carried out
The researchers analysed 363,960 individuals born in Northern Ireland between 1971 and 1986 who were still living there in 2014.
The individuals’ parents were asked shortly after their birth how related they were.
Mental health was assessed by investigating the participants’ prescriptions of antidepressant, anti-anxiety or antipsychotic medications between 2010 and 2014.
The findings were published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
Children of first cousins are twice as likely to have birth defects
This comes after research released by the universities of Leeds and Bradford in 2013 suggested children of first cousins are more than twice as likely to be born with life-threatening birth defects.
Out of the study’s near 11,000 babies born in Bradford between 2007 and 2011, more than 2,000 infants’ parents were first cousins and predominantly came from the region’s Pakistani community.
Such babies have a six per cent risk of being born with some form of disease or physical abnormality, compared to the average three per cent.
Nearly one third of birth defects among babies with Pakistani origins born in Bradford could be attributed to marriages between blood relatives.
Such defects include heart and lung problems, as well as Down’s syndrome.
Share or comment on this article
-
Monkey grabs a tourist’s HAIR in temper tantrum after she…
-
Faulty warning siren sparks fear of a late-night Russian…
-
Ouch! Dog gets a face full of quills after a distinctly…
-
Is Sherlock Holmes’ £130million Baker Street home…
-
Most people who believe the Earth is flat consider…
-
Adorable moment baby elephant ‘kisses’ and cuddles…
-
Fighting fang and claw! Bobcat tussles with a rattlesnake…
-
Chinese navy carries out live-fire drills with more than…
-
Finding their tongues! Mother’s prank backfires as her…
-
Anything to declare? Moment thieving security guard is…
-
Criminal who broke restraining order and was jailed for…
-
BRA room brawl! Chaos as hundreds of bargain-hunters…
-
SOILED again! Mother leaves her two cheeky toddlers alone…
-
When sleeping dogs lie! EVIL kitten’s attacks on world’s…
-
Detroit house where Rosa Parks sought refuge after…
-
Pilgrims mark Easter by prostrating themselves on stone…
-
Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye is jailed for…
-
Incredible footage captures a swarm of crabs migrating…
Comments 3
Share what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have been moderated in advance.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Close
Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual.
Close
Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual
We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.
You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.