Consanguineous parentage raises risk of mood disorders, psychoses in offspring

“As a form of assortative mating, consanguinity increases polygenic loading and thus is likely associated with a higher risk of mental disorder in progeny,” the authors wrote.

They also speculated that having consanguineous parents is associated with social stigma, particularly in Western societies where these partnerships are taboo. Offspring in these societies may experience discrimination that can affect mental health outcomes. However, they also noted that the children in the cohort might not have known about their parents’ consanguineous status.