Consanguineous marriage is preferred in many countries, especially by Muslims. Despite the increasing education rate in Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of consanguineous marriage does not seem to be decreasing as quickly as expected. The present study aimed to investigate the current prevalence of consanguineous marriage among educated married adults in Riyadh and to determine the factors favouring it. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017–18 using an online questionnaire. A total of 550 questionnaires were sent to married adults of both sexes and 417 responded, giving a response rate of 75.8%. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first section asked for demographic data such as age, sex, educational level, residential area and family size. The second part was about consanguineous marriage and its degree if present, family history of consanguineous marriage and level of awareness of its potential negative impact on offspring. It was found that the prevalence of consanguineous marriage among the participating educated adults was 39.8% and most of these were married to a first cousin. Neither level of education nor age affected the likelihood of consanguineous marriage, but predictors for the practice among the educated participating adults were having a family history of consanguineous marriage, having consanguineous parents and having a personal preference for consanguineous marriage. In conclusion, the prevalence of consanguineous marriage among educated adults in Riyadh was still high in 2018, especially among first-cousin relatives, and this was related to family history and personal preference rather than educational level or age. It is recommended that further research is conducted to assess the level of knowledge about, and attitude towards, consanguineous marriage among adults in Saudi Arabia.

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利雅得受过教育的已婚人士近亲结婚的流行率和模式

近亲婚姻在许多国家是受欢迎的，尤其是穆斯林。尽管沙特阿拉伯的教育率不断提高，但近亲结婚的流行率似乎并没有像预期的那样迅速下降。本研究旨在调查利雅得受过教育的已婚成年人中近亲结婚的流行率，并确定有利于它的因素。横断面研究于 2017-18 年使用在线问卷进行。共向已婚男女发放问卷550份，回复417份，回复率为75.8%。问卷由两部分组成：第一部分要求提供人口统计数据，如年龄、性别、教育水平、居住区和家庭规模。第二部分是关于近亲婚姻及其程度（如果存在），近亲结婚的家族史及其对后代潜在负面影响的认识水平。调查发现，参与的受过教育的成年人中近亲结婚的比例为39.8%，其中大多数是与堂兄结婚。教育水平和年龄都不会影响近亲结婚的可能性，但受过教育的参与成年人实践的预测因素是有近亲结婚的家族史，有近亲的父母和对近亲结婚的个人偏好。综上所述，2018 年利雅得受过教育的成年人中近亲结婚的比例仍然很高，尤其是在表亲中，这与家族史和个人喜好有关，而不是与教育水平或年龄有关。