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American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 125, No. 3: 453-461
Copyright © 1987 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

research-article

INBREEDING AND PREREPRODUCTIVE MORTALITY IN THE OLD ORDER AMISH. I. GENEALOGIC EPIDEMIOLOGY OF INBREEDING

MUIN J. KHOURY1 2, BERNICE H. COHEN1,, EARL L. DIAMOND1, GARY A. CHASE3 and VICTOR A. MCKUSICK4

1Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore MD 21205
3Department of Mental Hygiene, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health Baltimore, MD
4Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, MD

Reprint requests to Dr. Bernice H. Cohen

Epidemiologic patterns of inbreeding in the Old Order Amish were Investigated using a unique genealogic registry of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Amish that contains information on 8,163 marriages, dating back to the time of the pioneer migrants in the 1700s and spanning more than 10 generations. The kinship coefficient for each marriage was computed using the path method of tracing common ancestors in the multigenerational pedigrees. Because of exten sive genealogic connections, mean kinship coefficients and the proportion of related marriages have increased significantly over time, from 0.004 and 37%, respectlveiy, for marriages before 1850 to 0.012 and 98%, respectively, for marriages after 1950. Demographic factors related to higher kinship levels include young age at marriage, large sibship size for both husband and wife, husband being a farmer, and marriages occurring in the marriage season (November or December). The rise in inbreeding levels in the Amish over time can be uniquely contrasted with the decline in inbreeding in most areas of the world. Furthermore, because some of the demographic factors related to high inbreeding levels may be associated with levels of mortality, such factors have to be taken into account when studying the effects of inbreeding on mortality in the Amish. This study uses an epidemiologic approach to the evaluation of inbreeding patterns in a population over time.

consanguinity; ethnic groups; genealogy; inbreeding; mortality; religion

2Current address: Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA.


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