One of 14 children who died England The “absolute” figures revealed by the first study of its kind included parents who were closely related over a four-year period.
The figures, published by the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) at the University of Bristol, analyzed a total of 13,045 infant deaths in England between 2019 and 2023. Of these, 926 (7%) were children born to consanguineous parents, meaning the mother and father were first blood relatives.
While the exact number of children with consanguineous parents across England is unclear, the data clearly shows their overrepresentation in mortality figures and, according to the researchers, “urgent action” is needed.
The largest geographic estimate of consanguinity currently available comes from a large study that followed the lives of 13,000 infants born in Bradford. Found it One in six of these children have parents who are first cousinsmost of whom are from the city’s Pakistani community.
“This is the first analysis of its kind looking at blood transfusion-related child mortality nationwide and globally over several years,” said Professor Karen Luitt, director of the NCMD and lead author of the study. “The NCMD’s dataset is unique: it’s timely, complete and comprehensive, and it gives clearer insight than we’ve had so far into the impact of consanguinity on child mortality.”
She added: “Seven percent of child deaths during this period were children born to consanguineous parents. These children may have died from any cause, but the data shows us very clearly that they are high in the mortality figures. Urgent action is needed to improve outcomes for this group.”
The report also revealed severe racial and socioeconomic disparities in child mortality and kinship. The research found that among children who died with closely related parents, four in five (79%) were of Asian ethnic background, with the most common ethnicity being Pakistani.
Furthermore, almost a third (30%) of parents from Asian backgrounds who died had a close relative, compared with just 5% from a black background and 1% from a white or mixed background.
Of the bereaved children whose parents were close relatives, more than half (52%) lived in the most deprived areas of England, compared with only 5% in the least deprived areas.
Previous studies have shown that children born to closely related parents are more likely to experience worse health outcomes across a range of measures. For example, children born to these parents are twice as likely to be born with a congenital anomaly, as well as having problems with speech and language development.
According to research, a quarter (27%) of child deaths occurring during this period are related to chromosomal, genetic and congenital anomalies. Among children born to closely related parents, nearly three in five (59%) of these deaths were due to chromosomal, genetic and congenital anomalies. Of these child deaths due to genetic causes, about 17% were born to close relatives.
An NHS spokesman said: “This report provides even clearer evidence on genetic conditions and the risk of serious illness, highlighting the alarming death toll in closely related parents and more deprived areas.
“With hundreds of babies losing their lives in recent years, the NHS is running a small pilot to test whether nurses trained in these issues, targeting areas where close consanguineous marriage is prevalent, can prevent the death of vulnerable babies.”
