Consanguinity and its trend in a Mendelian population of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Consanguineous marriages have decreased significantly (p < 0.01) among the Kamma of Andhra Pradesh over the past forty years. The decline in uncle-niece marriages has contributed heavily to the decline in consanguinity, which may be due to shifting from agriculture to other occupations like government service and the rapid growth of industrialization. More recently, the tendency toward a lower consanguinity rate has been strengthened by reduction in number of children per marriage which reduces the number of eligible cousins. Marriages beyond first cousin have remained more or less constant.