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The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on October 5, 2005
The European Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/eurpub/cki201
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.
Received November 19, 2004
Accepted August 30, 2005

Article

Infant mortality, ethnicity, and genetically determined disorders in The Netherlands

Tom W. J. Schulpen 1*, Joke C. M. van Wieringen 1, Pien J. van Brummen 1, Jantien M. van Riel 1, Frits A. Beemer 2, Paul Westers 3, and Jonne Huber 4

1 Centre for migration and child health, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands
2 Department of medical genetics, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands
3 Centre for Biostatistics, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
4 Department of pathology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Tom W. J. Schulpen, E-mail: Schulpen{at}worldonline.nl


  Abstract

Background: Infant mortality of ethnic minorities in The Netherlands (10% of the population) is twice as high as in the indigenous Dutch population. Causes of death are different for the diverse migrant groups. Methods: Hospital records of nearly 600 infants who died in the four major cities between 1995 and 1998 were analysed according to the cause of death, ethnicity, and possible hereditarity. Results: There was a four to five times higher proportion of hereditary causes of death in the Moroccan and Turkish population, compared with the Surinamese/Antillians and indigenous Dutch. Conclusions: This might be explained by a high inbreeding coefficient as three-quarters of the marriage partners are recruited from the home villages and between a quarter and a third of these marriages are between first cousins. Health promotion activities in The Netherlands have not been successful so far. Preconception genetic counselling might help in reducing these differences.

Keywords: consanguinity; ethnicity; genetics; infant mortality; The Netherlands.
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