Consanguinity is Strongly Associated with Fetal Congenital Anencephaly

Background: Anencephaly is a type of neural tube defect characterized by abnormal development of the brain and the bones of the skull. Aims: to investigate the association between consanguinity and anencephaly which is the most severe form of neural tube defects and to assess the magnitude of the problem. Methods :A case-control study was conducted between January and December 2014, all women with anencephaly that were admitted to the obstetric department of al Thawra General hospital , Sana'a , were enrolled in this study .The subjects were divided into study ( n = 72 ) and control groups (n=25). Results: From a total of 11283 deliveries, 97 women were having anencephaly giving the overall incidence as 8.5/1000 births. We found significant number (74.2%) of these affected women had consanguineous marriage (95% CI 62.5-83.7; p = 0.0001). The first cousin union was present in (68%). Compared with control, the study cases were characterized by poverty, low education, absence of antenatal care, and mostly from rural setting. Conclusion: Consanguineous marriage is common in our societies and strongly associated with fetal congenital anomalies particularly anencephaly.