Prevalence and socio-economic determinants of consanguineous marriages in Algeria according to Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019 data (MICS6)

ABSTRACT

Consanguineous marriage is still a customary social phenomenon in Arab-Muslim communities. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of consanguineous marriages in the Algerian population and to identify the socio-economic determinants associated with the practice of this form of union. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study included data for 21141 ever-married women aged 15–49 years, from the MICS6 Algeria (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey database), conducted in 2019. Using a logistic regression model, we assessed the influence of socio-economic and geographical determinants on the practice of consanguineous marriages. The prevalence of consanguinity was 23.0% (95% CI: 22.4–23.6). According to multivariable binary logistic regression analysis, low level of education, early age at marriage (15–19; 20–30 years), rural area of residence, all geographical regions except the north-western territorial programming space, economic activity, and the lowest wealth index were the main determinants that assist in the prevalence of high rates of consanguineous marriages in Algeria. Considering these explanatory variables could help national health policy decision-makers to create and implement national preventive action plans that are intended alter behaviors attitudes toward preference of consanguineous marriages and, thus, reduce the burden of genetic disorders or congenital abnormalities associated with consanguinity.

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to the study’s participants and supporting personnel for their tremendous assistance. The Population Directorate of the Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are all specifically thanked for their financial and technical support in carrying out the global MICS survey. We also thank UNICEF's website administration for giving us access to the MICS6 survey database.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author Contributions

All authors contributed to the data interpretation and manuscript writing. AM, AS, and ZL designed the research and contributed to the data interpretation; AM and AS performed the extraction and selection of data from the survey database obtained from the UNICEF official website; AM, AS, and HH participated the statistical analysis; AM, AS, and HH interpreted the results; AM, ZL, and AS wrote the article and had primary responsibility for the final content. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Availability of Data and Materials

The UNICEF official website’s database for the survey was accessed there. The first author will provide the datasets used and/or analyzed during the current investigation upon reasonable request.

Ethics Approval Statement

This study was approved a priori by the ethics committee from the Algerian Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform – General Directorate of Prevention and Health Promotion according to the Executive Decree No. 92–276 of 06 July 1992 on the Algerian Code of Medical Ethics. Written informed consent was obtained from the participants.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported that there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.