Arranged marriage, consanguinity and epilepsy

Arranged marriage is where parents choose marital partners for their children. It is a norm in many parts of Asia and Middle East. A marriage is said to be consanguineous where the marriages are solemnized among persons with close biological relations. There is considerable overlap in arranged and consanguineous marriages with many cultures adopting both practices. Recent studies showed that there is significantly higher rate of consanguinity of parents of epilepsy patients. There is also significantly higher rate of epilepsy among family members with consanguineous marriage for both cryptogenic and idiopathic epilepsies.