Knowledge and awareness on consanguineous marriages and associated birth defects among the general population - Asurvey

2021 ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
PAVEL V. BASHARIN ◽  

This paper deals with the famous Zoroastrian marriage xwēdōdah. This form of marriage refers to the conjugal union of father and daughter, mother and son, brother and sister. Zoroastrianism of the Sassanid era made this institution a key element of religion, along with offering meal (mēzd) and seasonal holidays (gāhānbār). The question of whether this institution is a part of ancient Iranian legacy or has emerged later, is still controversial among the scholars. Careful development of xwēdōdah in the late Pahlavi works after the Arab conquest in the 9th century could have been the propagation of the priesthood who tried to protect Zoroastrian society against infiltration and destruction or sticking to archaic norms in an effort to preserve their religion in the face of extinction. The paper gives an overview of the most relevant theories about xwēdōdah. The genesis of this institution probably traces to the pre-Indo-European cultural substrate. Some modern scholars, looking for an explanation, pay attention to the works of anthropologists. The rejection of incest in all societies with exogamic regulation led to a certain taboo. This taboo is often due to the birth defects of children born out of consanguineous marriages. In the author’s opinion, the hypothesis of “ritual value” by A.R. Radcliffe-Brown seems to be the most appropriate to this case.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252236
Author(s):  
Kelly Charniga ◽  
Zulma M. Cucunubá ◽  
Diana M. Walteros ◽  
Marcela Mercado ◽  
Franklyn Prieto ◽  
...  

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen that recently caused a major epidemic in the Americas. Although the majority of ZIKV infections are asymptomatic, the virus has been associated with birth defects in fetuses and newborns of infected mothers as well as neurological complications in adults. We performed a descriptive analysis on approximately 106,000 suspected and laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus disease (ZVD) that were reported during the 2015–2017 epidemic in Colombia. We also analyzed a dataset containing patients with neurological complications and recent febrile illness compatible with ZVD. Females had higher cumulative incidence of ZVD than males. Compared to the general population, cases were more likely to be reported in young adults (20 to 39 years of age). We estimated the cumulative incidence of ZVD in pregnant females at 3,120 reported cases per 100,000 population (95% CI: 3,077–3,164), which was considerably higher than the incidence in both males and non-pregnant females. ZVD cases were reported in all 32 departments. Four-hundred and eighteen patients suffered from ZIKV-associated neurological complications, of which 85% were diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome. The median age of ZIKV cases with neurological complications was 12 years older than that of ZVD cases. ZIKV-associated neurological complications increased with age, and the highest incidence was reported among individuals aged 75 and older. Even though neurological complications and deaths due to ZIKV were rare in this epidemic, better risk communication is needed for people living in or traveling to ZIKV-affected areas.


2005 ◽  
Vol 38 (16) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
SHARON WORCESTER
Keyword(s):  

2006 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
MICHELE G. SULLIVAN
Keyword(s):  

2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (20) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Timothy F. Kirn
Keyword(s):  

2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (14) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
MICHELE G. SULLIVAN
Keyword(s):  

VASA ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 423-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingtao Meng ◽  
Si Wang ◽  
Yong Wang ◽  
Shixi Wan ◽  
Kai Liu ◽  
...  

Background: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is a disease prevalent among middle-aged men and the elderly. The association between arterial stiffness and OH is unclear. This study evaluates whether arterial stiffness is correlated with OH and tests the usefulness of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), an arterial stiffness marker, with regard to identifying OH. Patients and methods: A sample of 1,010 participants was recruited from the general population (64.8 ± 7.7 years; 426 men) who attended health check-ups. BaPWV and the radial augmentation index (rAI) were both assessed as the arterial stiffness markers, and OH was determined using blood pressure (BP) measured in the supine position, as well as 30 seconds and 2 minutes after standing. Results: The prevalence of OH in this population was 4.9 %. Compared with the non-OH group, both baPWV (20.5 ± 4.5 vs 17.3 ± 3.7, p < 0.001) and rAI (88.1 ± 10.8 vs 84.2 ± 10.7, p < 0.05) were significantly higher in the OH group. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, baPWV (OR, 1.3; 95 % CI, 1.106–1.528; p < 0.05) remained associated with OH. Moreover, the degree of orthostatic BP reduction was related to arterial stiffness. In addition, increases in arterial stiffness predicted decreases in the degree of heart rate (HR) elevation. Finally, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that baPWV was useful in discriminating OH (AUC, 0.721; p < 0.001), with the cut-off value of 18.58 m/s (sensitivity, 0.714; specificity, 0.686). Conclusions: Arterial stiffness determined via baPWV, rather than rAI, was significantly correlated with the attenuation of the orthostatic hemodynamic response and the resultant OH. The impaired baroreceptor sensitivity might be the mechanism. In addition, baPWV appears to be a relatively sensitive and reliable indicator of OH in routine clinical practice.


Crisis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudath Samaraweera ◽  
Athula Sumathipala ◽  
Sisira Siribaddana ◽  
S. Sivayogan ◽  
Dinesh Bhugra

Background: Suicidal ideation can often lead to suicide attempts and completed suicide. Studies have shown that Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world but so far no studies have looked at prevalence of suicidal ideation in a general population in Sri Lanka. Aims: We wanted to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation by randomly selecting six Divisional Secretariats (Dss) out of 17 in one district. This district is known to have higher than national average rates of suicide. Methods: 808 participants were interviewed using Sinhala versions of GHQ-30 and Beck’s Scale for Suicidal Ideation. Of these, 387 (48%) were males, and 421 (52%) were female. Results: On Beck’s Scale for Suicidal Ideation, 29 individuals (4%) had active suicidal ideation and 23 (3%) had passive suicidal ideation. The active suicidal ideators were young, physically ill and had higher levels of helplessness and hopelessness. Conclusions: The prevalence of suicidal ideation in Sri Lanka is lower than reported from the West and yet suicide rates are higher. Further work must explore cultural and religious factors.


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