Consanguinity and willingness to perform premarital genetic screening in Sudan
Elhadi, Yasir Ahmed Mohammed ; Alrawa, Salma S. ; Alfadul, Esraa S.A. ; Mahgoub, Esra Abdallah Abdalwahed ; El-Osta, Austen ; Belal, Safaa Abdalazeem ; Lucero-Prisno, Don Eliseo ; El Dabbah, Noha Ahmed and Yahia, Ashraf LU
(2025)
In European Journal of Human Genetics
33(12).
p.1655-1662
- Abstract
Consanguineous marriage is prevalent in certain world regions due to cultural, economic, and social reasons. However, it can lead to negative consequences including an increased risk of genetic disorders in offspring. Premarital genetic screening (PMGS) is an important tool to identify and manage these risks before marriage. This study aimed to assess the magnitude of consanguineous marriage, knowledge of genetic diseases and PMGS, and attitudes and willingness to perform PMGS in Sudan. A national household survey was conducted using a multistage sampling technique, with a sample size of 2272 participants. Data were collected from December 2022 to March 2023 using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. A significant proportion of... (More)
Consanguineous marriage is prevalent in certain world regions due to cultural, economic, and social reasons. However, it can lead to negative consequences including an increased risk of genetic disorders in offspring. Premarital genetic screening (PMGS) is an important tool to identify and manage these risks before marriage. This study aimed to assess the magnitude of consanguineous marriage, knowledge of genetic diseases and PMGS, and attitudes and willingness to perform PMGS in Sudan. A national household survey was conducted using a multistage sampling technique, with a sample size of 2272 participants. Data were collected from December 2022 to March 2023 using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. A significant proportion of respondents (364/850, 42.8%) were married to consanguineal partners, with various types of relatedness. Moreover, 32.1% (242/755) of single respondents were planning to marry a close relative, signifying the likely persistence of consanguineous marriages in Sudan. The level of knowledge regarding genetic diseases and PMGS was relatively low in many states of Sudan, indicating the need for increased awareness interventions. A significant number of participants (85.2%) agreed that premarital screening is effective in reducing genetic diseases, whereas 71.2% supported the introduction of a mandatory PMGS program. Excluding married participants, 82.3% (1265/1537) of respondents were willing to perform PMGS, if implemented. These findings reflect the public positive attitude towards introducing the PMGS program and policies in Sudan and underscore the importance of addressing the knowledge gap of PMGS before such a potential implementation.
(Less)
- author
- Elhadi, Yasir Ahmed Mohammed
; Alrawa, Salma S.
; Alfadul, Esraa S.A.
; Mahgoub, Esra Abdallah Abdalwahed
; El-Osta, Austen
; Belal, Safaa Abdalazeem
; Lucero-Prisno, Don Eliseo
; El Dabbah, Noha Ahmed
and Yahia, Ashraf
LU
- publishing date
- 2025-12
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- in
- European Journal of Human Genetics
- volume
- 33
- issue
- 12
- pages
- 1655 - 1662
- publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85166334544
- pmid:37528188
- ISSN
- 1018-4813
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41431-023-01438-1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023.
- id
- 7364b6c8-cae9-4f1a-8d12-806e7ce31f57
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-05 10:24:48
- date last changed
- 2026-09-27 01:10:42
@article{7364b6c8-cae9-4f1a-8d12-806e7ce31f57,
abstract = {{<p>Consanguineous marriage is prevalent in certain world regions due to cultural, economic, and social reasons. However, it can lead to negative consequences including an increased risk of genetic disorders in offspring. Premarital genetic screening (PMGS) is an important tool to identify and manage these risks before marriage. This study aimed to assess the magnitude of consanguineous marriage, knowledge of genetic diseases and PMGS, and attitudes and willingness to perform PMGS in Sudan. A national household survey was conducted using a multistage sampling technique, with a sample size of 2272 participants. Data were collected from December 2022 to March 2023 using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. A significant proportion of respondents (364/850, 42.8%) were married to consanguineal partners, with various types of relatedness. Moreover, 32.1% (242/755) of single respondents were planning to marry a close relative, signifying the likely persistence of consanguineous marriages in Sudan. The level of knowledge regarding genetic diseases and PMGS was relatively low in many states of Sudan, indicating the need for increased awareness interventions. A significant number of participants (85.2%) agreed that premarital screening is effective in reducing genetic diseases, whereas 71.2% supported the introduction of a mandatory PMGS program. Excluding married participants, 82.3% (1265/1537) of respondents were willing to perform PMGS, if implemented. These findings reflect the public positive attitude towards introducing the PMGS program and policies in Sudan and underscore the importance of addressing the knowledge gap of PMGS before such a potential implementation.</p>}},
author = {{Elhadi, Yasir Ahmed Mohammed and Alrawa, Salma S. and Alfadul, Esraa S.A. and Mahgoub, Esra Abdallah Abdalwahed and El-Osta, Austen and Belal, Safaa Abdalazeem and Lucero-Prisno, Don Eliseo and El Dabbah, Noha Ahmed and Yahia, Ashraf}},
issn = {{1018-4813}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{12}},
pages = {{1655--1662}},
publisher = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
series = {{European Journal of Human Genetics}},
title = {{Consanguinity and willingness to perform premarital genetic screening in Sudan}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41431-023-01438-1}},
doi = {{10.1038/s41431-023-01438-1}},
volume = {{33}},
year = {{2025}},
}