Consanguinity in India and its association with autism spectrum disorder.
In India, cousin marriage nearly triples the odds of having a child with ASD.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers looked at family trees of children with autism in India.
They asked if the parents were blood relatives, such as cousins.
Then they compared autism rates between related and unrelated parents.
What they found
Children whose parents are cousins have three times the odds of autism.
The risk stayed high even after counting parents’ age and income.
How this fits with other research
Mamidala et al. (2013) also worked in India and found labor problems raise autism odds by about half.
Their risks are smaller than cousin marriage, but both studies show Indian families face multiple, stacking risks.
Al-Mamari et al. (2015) studied Middle-East families who marry cousins too.
They found clear gene flaws in one of every four autism cases.
Together, the papers say cousin marriage is a big clue to look for genetic causes.
Why it matters
When you intake a new Indian client, ask if the parents are related.
A “yes” should push you to request genetic testing and to counsel about future pregnancies.
It also reminds you that risk is not one-size-fits-all; culture counts.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add one question to your intake form: "Are the child’s parents blood relatives?"
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has both genetic and environmental factors in its etiology. The risk for many disorders is increased by consanguinity, but it is not known whether it increases the risk for ASD. Our study from large population in India concludes that consanguinity increases the risk for ASD with an odds ratio of 3.22.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2015 · doi:10.1002/aur.1431