ABSTRACT
One of the most important factors contributing to the preponderance of genetic disorders in Arab populations is the deep-rooted norm of consanguineous marriages. A marriage between first cousins increases the risk of having a child with a severe congenital or genetic disorder by 2.5 times since parents share one-eighth of their genes. The successful management of genetic disorders also incurs a high financial cost, which could be eased by the application of effective prevention programs in populations at risk of genetic disease. Many genetic disorders indexed in the Catalogue for Transmission Genetics in Arabs database exhibit sporadic distribution patterns over geographically distinct regions in the Arab world. Arab populations encompass a vast geographical region that extends from Iraq in the east to Morocco in the west. The limited examples available in the Arab world are usually local efforts by medical practitioners and clinical geneticists who have developed a particular interest or have specialized in molecular studies.
