Re: Cousin Marriage?
Cousin marriages increase the chance of passing on inherited diseases...
Take the case of the Russian royal family.
The descended from Queen victoria of England. Queen victoria was a carrier of of the haemophilia gene. Some say she was the first in the family to carry it (mutation). Her daughters were carriers etc.
Had the royal family not married within the family, carriers of the disorder wouldnt have passed it on to their kids.. But since they married cousins etc, eventually full blown Haemophilia arrose in the male descendants such as the son of the Russian Czar.
So there is is definently an increase chance of unwittingly passing on recessive disorders that would otherwise be filtered out of the gene pool. I think its important to inform your doctor so they can take whatever precautions neccesary. But unless you have a history of autosomal disorders in the family, the risk while higher then other populations, isnt that significant.