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Third Cousins Who Marry Likely to Beget More Kids
February 08, 2008 at 3:32 PM
General Health News
Earlier research has shown that children of related couples are more likely to inherit two copies of disease-causing recessive genes.
However, scientists at deCODE Genetics, a biopharmaceutical company based in Reykjavik, Iceland, have found that inbreeding between kissing cousins might produce more children and grandchildren.
Kári Stefánsson and colleagues suggest marrying third and fourth cousins is so optimal for reproduction because they sort of have the "best of both worlds."
Breeding outside of the family is considered beneficial because it provides a source of new genetic material. Outbreeding increases the chances that offspring will inherit at least one good copy of a gene, potentially masking harmful mutations lurking in a familys genetic background.
But the new results suggest that things don't always work that way, says Stefánsson.
Stefánsson and his colleagues tackled the question using data from Iceland, an island slightly larger than the United Kingdom with a remarkably homogeneous population in terms of socio-economic status.
The researchers found that first and second cousins had more children than distantly related couples, but that those children also die at a younger age and bear fewer children. That fits with previous data showing that children of first-cousin marriages have a 3-4 percent higher chance of ill health or early death.
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