Influence of consanguinity and maternal education on risk of stillbirth and infant death in Norway, 1967-1993

Abstract

To analyze the influence of consanguinity and maternal education on stillbirth and infant death for children born in Norway between 1967 and 1993, the authors studied 7,274 children of ethnic Pakistani origin and 1,431,055 children of Norwegian ethnic origin. Of these children, 31.0% of the Pakistani children and 0.1% of the Norwegian children had parents who were first cousins. Consanguinity increased the relative risk of stillbirth (odds ratio (OR) = 1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-1.6) and infant death (OR = 2.4, 95% CI 2.0-3.0), after adjustment for maternal education, maternal age, parity, and year of birth. In 1985-1993, 29% (95% CI 13-45) of stillbirths and infant deaths among the Pakistani group were attributable to consanguinity. In the Norwegian group, 17% (95% CI 13-21) of the deaths were attributable to factors associated with low maternal education, while in the Pakistani group, the corresponding estimate was nonsignificant. The risks of stillbirth and infant death were similar for children with non-consanguineous parents in both populations. This is an important observation considering the differences in socioeconomic status between the two groups. The authors conclude that consanguinity influenced stillbirth and infant death independent of maternal education, and that a large proportion of deaths could be attributed to consanguinity in the Pakistani group due to high frequencies of consanguinity.