Consanguinity and hereditary hearing impairment among Saudi population.

Hereditary sensorineural hearing loss is a preventive disease. A random sample survey of 6,421 Saudi infants and children was conducted tos study the prevalence of consanguineous marriage and its effect on the prevalence of hereditary sensorineural hearing loss. First cousin consanguineous marriage was found among the parents of 21.1% of the children studied and second cousin consanguinity was present in 23%. The overall prevalence of hereditary sensorineural hearing loss was 1.7%. A higher prevalence of 2.8% of this type of deafness of more distant consanguinity and 1.4% among non-consanguineous families' children. The study showed that consanguinity is widely practiced among the population surveyed and demonstrated a marked adverse effect on the incidence of hereditary sensorineural hearing impairment.