Effects of consanguineous marriages on fertility among three endogamous groups of Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

For the present study three castes representing three socioeconomic levels have been selected from Andhra Pradesh, South India. Members of the wealthier castes married consanguineously more frequently than did the members of the lower‐ranking castes. The consanguineous unions among all the castes are found to be more fertile than are nonconsanguineous unions. Indeed, fertility increases with degree of relationship of the spouses. Number of pregnancies and live births are significantly (P = 0.01) higher among consanguineous unions (among all the castes). However, the difference in the number of surviving offspring between consanguineous and nonconsanguineous unions is not significant among the wealthier castes. This suggests that child mortality is higher among the offspring of consanguineous unions in spite of their greater wealth.