One in 14 children who die in England has closely related parents, study finds

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"One in 14 children who die in England has closely related parents, a new study has found. The research, led by the University of Bristol, looked at children born to parents who share an ancestor and who had died between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2023. Of the 13,045 child deaths recorded in the four years, 7 per cent (926) of the children were born to "consanguineous" parents, meaning the parents are close blood relatives. The pattern remained consistent, with 8 per cent documented in 2019-20 and 7 per cent in 2022-23. The data shows that children whose parents were close relatives died most frequently due to genetic issues such as chromosomal, genetic and congenital anomalies. Whereas the most common cause of death for children whose parents were not related was perinatal or neonatal reasons. Karen Luyt, director of the National Child Mortality Database study said: "This is the first analysis of its kind globally looking at consanguinity-related child deaths across a whole country and over a number of years. Those findings are stark: 7 per cent of child deaths over the period"

The Independent sends journalists across topics including reproductive rights, climate change and Big Tech, produces documentaries such as 'The A Word', and remains freely accessible without paywalls, funded by donations. A University of Bristol-led analysis of child deaths in England from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2023 recorded 13,045 deaths and found 926 deaths (7%) involved children born to consanguineous parents. The yearly pattern was stable. Deaths among children of closely related parents most often resulted from chromosomal, genetic and congenital anomalies, while deaths among children of unrelated parents were most commonly perinatal or neonatal.

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