The surprising truth about inbreeding in the UK - and how the NHS says cousin marriage is NO different to women choosing to give birth in their 30s 'because both are risky'

英国近亲结婚的惊人真相
——以及英国国家医疗体系关于堂/表亲结婚和女性选择在30多岁时生孩子没有什么不同的解释——“因为两者都有风险”。


(Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were first cousins, sharing a set of grandparents.)

（维多利亚女王和阿尔伯特亲王是表姐弟，有共同的祖父母。）
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Although incredibly controversial, inbreeding in Britain is probably more common than you think.

尽管极具争议性，近亲结婚在英国可能比你想象的更普遍。

One academic study examining rates of 'extreme' inbreeding – where parents of a child are considered to be first- or second-degree relatives – found 125 Brits out of a sample of 450,000 were the result of such unxs.

一项学术研究调查了“极端”近亲结婚——孩子的父母被认为是一级或二级亲属——的比率，结果发现，在45万份样本中，有125名英国人是这种结合的结果。

First degree relations include those between parent and child, while second-degree includes more distant, but still genetic close relatives, such as half-siblings.

一级关系包括父母和孩子之间的关系，而二级关系包括更远的，但仍然是遗传上的近亲，比如同父异母或同母异父的兄弟姐妹。

Extrapolated to the wider population, the 2019 study was reported as meaning some 13,000 Brits were conceived through extreme inbreeding.

据报道，2019年的研究推断到更广泛的人群，意味着约有1.3万名英国人是通过极端近亲交配受孕的。

The authors noted , given the nature of the subject and the limited variety of Brits included in the sample, true rates could be significantly higher or lower.

作者指出，考虑到研究对象的性质和样本中英国人的种类有限，真实的比率可能会明显更高或更低。

Of the 125 total, about 43 per cent were attributed to be the result of the first-degree relations, those between parents and children.

在125个样本中，大约43%是由父母和孩子之间的一级关系产生的。

Some were adopted as children and thus likely had no idea of their parentage.

有些人是被收养的，因此可能不知道他们的父母。

Incest — sexual intercourse between immediate relatives — is illegal in the UK even if consensual.

乱伦——直系亲属之间的性行为——在英国是非法的，哪怕是双方自愿的也不行。

Marriages between certain blood relatives — as well as some step relationships — is also illegal.

某些血亲之间的婚姻——以及一些继亲关系——也是非法的。

However, it is legal to marry your cousin in the UK.

然而，在英国和你的堂/表亲结婚是合法的。

Cousin marriage – which falls under the consanguine bracket – was once common among Britain's upper classes, with it historically seen as a way of firming up alliances and keeping wealth and land in the family.

堂/表亲婚姻——属于近亲婚姻——曾经在英国上层阶级中很普遍，历史上它被视为一种巩固联盟和保持家庭财富和土地的方式。

While falling out of fashion, alongside other arranged marriages, the practice is still common in some UK communities.

虽然今天和其他包办婚姻一样已经不流行了，但这种做法在英国的一些社区仍然很常见。

Experts have previously written about how a preference for cousin-marriage among British Pakistanis was a contributing factor in child mortality rates in Bradford due to an increased risk of genetic conditions.

专家此前曾撰文指出，由于遗传疾病的风险增加，英国巴基斯坦裔对堂/表亲婚姻的偏好是导致布拉德福德儿童死亡率上升的一个因素。

NHS studies between 2007-11 found consanguineous marriage accounted for 60 per cent of marital unxs in people of Pakistani heritage in Bradford.

2007年至2011年间，英国国家医疗体系的研究发现，近亲婚姻占布拉德福德巴基斯坦裔婚姻的60%。

This compared to just 1 per cent among white British couples in the area.

相比之下，该地区仅有1%的英国白人夫妇这样做。

Of the Pakistani-heritage marriages, 37 per cent were to a first-cousin.

在有巴基斯坦血统的婚姻中，37%是和堂/表亲结婚。

Subsequent NHS studies, conducted between 2016 and 2020, have found the rate among that particular community has fallen to around 43 per cent.

2016年至2020年期间进行的国家医疗体系后续研究发现，该特定社区的这一比例已降至43%左右。

The NHS has previously stated cousin-marriage cousin accounts for about a third of birth defects in leaflets distributed to families in Bradford.

英国国家医疗体系此前在向布拉德福德家庭分发的传单中表示，近亲婚姻占出生缺陷的三分之一左右。

Under a scheme tracking rates across the area, health chiefs describe cousin marriage as a cultural practice.

在一项追踪该地区结婚率的计划中，卫生主管将堂/表亲婚姻描述为一种文化习俗。

Wording still available online today states it is no different than white British people choosing to have children over the age of 34, in terms of increasing the risk of genetic conditions in a baby.

今天网上仍然可以找到的措辞表明，就增加婴儿遗传疾病的风险而言，这与英国白人选择在34岁以上生孩子没有什么不同。

Worldwide, one in 10 people are thought to be a result of a consanguineous unx.

在世界范围内，十分之一的人口被认为是近亲结合的结果。

Estimates on consanguineous marriage prence around the world vary.

世界各地对近亲结婚流行率的估计各不相同。

Studies have put Pakistan as having one of the highest rates globally at 65 per cent of unxs.

研究显示，巴基斯坦在这一集合中的流行率为65%，是全球最高的国家之一。

This is followed by India (55 per cent), Saudi Arabia (50 per cent), Afghanistan (40 per cent), Iran (30 per cent) and Egypt and Turkey (20 per cent each).

紧随其后的是印度（55%）、沙特阿拉伯（50%）、阿富汗（40%）、伊朗（30%）以及埃及和土耳其（各占20%）。

Other data sets used by genetic experts studying consanguineous marriage have put the UK as having a rate of 1 to 4 per cent, while the US has a lower rate of less than 1 per cent.

研究近亲婚姻的基因专家使用的其他数据集显示，英国的这一比例为1%至4%，而美国的比例更低，不到1%。

Data suggests the risk of a child resulting from a unx of first cousins developing a genetic condition is between 3 to 6 per cent.

数据显示，近亲结婚生下的孩子患上遗传疾病的风险在3%到6%之间。

This still means the majority of children born in such circumstances will be healthy, however, the increased risk is undeniable. It's roughly double the risk compared to children from unrelated parents.

这仍然意味着在这种情况下出生的大多数孩子将是健康的，然而，风险的增加是不可否认的。与无血缘关系的孩子相比，这一风险大约是其两倍。

Potential conditions include birth defects, developmental delays, and genetic disorders such as blindness, hearing loss, neonatal diabetes, and limb malformations.

潜在的情况包括出生缺陷、发育迟缓和遗传性疾病，比如失明、听力丧失、新生儿糖尿病和肢体畸形。

Risks broadly increases the closer the genetic relationship between the parents, as well as if there is a family history of such unxs, as genetic errors can compound between generations.

父母之间的遗传关系越密切，以及如果有这种结合的家族史，风险就会普遍增加，因为基因错误会在几代人之间叠加放大。

During conception, children receive one copy of genes from each parent, with the harmful genetic mutations, known as recessive genes, typically overridden by healthier dominant genes.

在受孕期间，孩子从父母双方获得一份基因拷贝，其中有害的基因突变，即隐性基因，通常会被更健康的显性基因所取代。

But when closely related individuals have a child there is a decrease in genetic variations.

但是（血缘）当关系密切的个体有了一个孩子，基因改变就会减少。
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This may lead to recessive genes not being overwritten and becoming dominant in a child, causing many types of congenital disabilities.

这可能会导致隐性基因没有被覆盖，而在孩子身上成为显性基因，从而导致许多类型的先天性残疾。

These can include low IQ, cleft palate, heart conditions, cystic fibrosis, and an increased risk of infant death.

这些可能包括低智商、腭裂、心脏病、囊性纤维化和婴儿死亡风险增加。

An increased interest and availability of DIY genealogy kits, enabling people to track their genetic family history, is leading to many people uncovering uncomfortable truths about themselves and their relations.

人们对自检家谱试剂的兴趣及其可用性越来越高，它使人们能够追踪他们的遗传家族史，这导致许多人发现了关于他们自己和他们的关系的令人不安的真相。

This has, in part, lead to some people, including in the US, discovering they are the result of an incestuous unx, or in some shocking cases learning they have married or had sex with someone who then turned out to be a close relative.

这在一定程度上导致一些人，包括美国人，发现自己是乱伦婚姻的结果，或者在一些令人震惊的案例中，发现自己与近亲结婚或发生性关系。

First cousin marriages were once far more common and include some famous historical figures.

堂/表亲通婚一度更为普遍，其中包括一些著名的历史人物。

The father-of-evolution Charles Darwin married his first cousin Emma Wedgwood, and the famous physicist Albert Einstein married his first cousin Elsa Lowenthal.

进化论之父查尔斯·达尔文娶了他的表妹艾玛·韦奇伍德，著名物理学家阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦娶了他的表妹艾尔莎·洛温塔尔。（译注：也可能是堂，我不一一去查找核实了，下同。）

Authors Edgar Allan Poe and H.G. Wells were also known to have married their cousins.

众所周知，作家埃德加·爱伦·坡和H·G·威尔斯也娶了他们的堂/表亲。

The British Royal family have also, like many European nobility, engaged in consanguineous unxs.

像许多欧洲贵族一样，英国王室也有近亲婚姻。

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were first cousins, sharing a set of grandparents.

维多利亚女王和阿尔伯特王子是表姐弟，有共同的祖父母。

In more modern times, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's first wife was his cousin Sajida Talfah.

在更现代的时代，前伊拉克独裁者萨达姆·侯赛因的第一任妻子是他的表妹赛吉达·塔尔法。

Musician JerrY LEE Lewis, of 'Great Balls of Fire' fame controversially married his cousin Myra Gale Lewis Williams when she was just 13, he was 22 at the time.

音乐家杰里·李·刘易斯因《火焰球》而出名，他在表妹迈拉·盖尔·刘易斯·威廉姆斯13岁时与她结婚，当时他22岁。