Prevalence, Structure, and Perception of the Local Population Regarding Consanguineous Marriages in the Rural Areas of Southern India: A Community based Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Southern India has one of the highest prevalence of consanguineous marriages in Asia. Limited research has been conducted to understand the reasons behind this in the rural areas of South India, despite the potential risks associated with consanguinity.

Objectives: The present community-based mixed-methods study was conducted in selected villages of Telangana, with an aim to determine the prevalence and pattern of consanguineous marriages and also to find out why the population native to this region prefer such marriages.

Materials and methods: Two hundred and fifty-two married couples aged 18-75 years, native to this region, were interviewed by doing house to house survey, for achieving the aim, and focused group discussions were conducted, to find out why people of this region prefer or oppose consanguineous marriages, to understand their "mind-set," influencing consanguinity.

Results: The present study found a prevalence of 36.51% consanguinity in this region, with an inbreeding coefficient of 0.014028. The wife's education level is the only sociodemographic factor significantly affecting the prevalence of consanguineous marriages, while factors such as age, socioeconomic status, time spent in the region, religion, employment, husband's education, family structure, and age at first birth show no impact. The continuation of consanguineous marriages in this region is driven by social factors such as marital security and cultural practices, along with economic factors such as inheritance and dowry.

Conclusion: Consanguinity is highly prevalent in this region, and there is an urgent need community-based campaigns to raise the awareness of the general population regarding its negative effects.