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The Effect of Inbreeding on Mortality and Morbidity among Telugu-speaking Populations of Kharagpur, West Bengal, India

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International Journal of Anthropology

Abstract

Increased mortality and morbidity including congenital malformations among the offspring of consanguineous marriages have been widely reported in human populations from different parts of the world. However, there are few studies on the effect of the intensity of inbreeding and different degrees of inbreeding on mortality and morbidity. The present study is an attempt to examine the effects of inbreeding on mortality and morbidity including congenital disorders in different levels of inbreeding among Telugu-speaking populations of Kharagpur, West Bengal, India, based on data collected through extensive pedigrees. The study reveals that the frequency of spontaneous abortions and stillbirths is higher in the offspring of consanguineous marriages than in that of non-consanguineous marriages. A similar effect is also observed in the infant mortality rate, which is known to have a genetic component, but is not seen in the mortality rate of children and juveniles. The rate of morbidity is consistently higher in the offspring of consanguineous marriages with a sex bias in favour of inbred females. The increased morbidity rates in inbred individuals tend to be inversely correlated with the increase in average autosomal inbreeding coefficient. This appears to strengthen Sanghvi’s hypothesis of a decline in the frequency of deleterious genes with intensification of inbreeding through generations. The present study also confirms an increase in genetic disorders with an increase in inbreeding in almost all populations.

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Acknowledgements

I am indebted to Professor D.P. Mukherjee, Rtd. Professor, Calcutta University, for his guidance, keen interest and cooperation at every stage of this work. I want to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Amiya Kumar Bagchi and Dr. Ramkrishna Chatterjee of the Institute of Development Studies Kolkata for inspiration and help. I am also grateful to Dr. Abhijit Guha, Reader, Dept. of Anthropology, Vidyasagar University, for constant inspiration during the preparation of this report. Last, but not least, I thankfully acknowledge the sincere cooperation of the members of Telugu-speaking population of Kharagpur during field investigation. Financial assistance from University Grants Commission, New Delhi, through junior and senior research fellowships (N.E.T.) to the author is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Institute of Development Studies Kolkata, Calcutta University Alipore Campus, 1 Reformatory Street, Kolkata, 700 027, India

    Bidhan Kanti Das

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Das, B.K. The Effect of Inbreeding on Mortality and Morbidity among Telugu-speaking Populations of Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Intl Jnl Anthropology 21, 151–163 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11599-006-9016-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11599-006-9016-z

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