Consanguineous unions and endogamy in families of beta-thalassaemia patients from two Mediterranean populations: Tunisia and Italy.

Consanguinity increases the incidence of recessive diseases such as beta-thalassaemia major (βTM), one of the most prevalent lethal inherited diseases in the world. This study aims to identify the frequency of endogamy and consanguinity in two Mediterranean βTM populations and to study the implication of socio-economic factors. A trans-sectional study was conducted in 203 Tunisian families and 75 Italian families.