Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-1990

Keywords

GM, Segregation Analysis

Abstract

Immunoglobulin haplotypes are highly polymorphic and are useful for analyses of both macro- and microdifferentiation of populations. The origins of this diversity are not known, but recent reports suggest strong selection at this locus. Increased rates of first-trimester spontaneous abortions have been reported when parents share GM phenotypes. Reduced fertility has been observed in mixed European descent white and Hutterite populations when both parents share immunoglobulin haplotypes. Population samples with completed family information and GM haplotype data are rare; the objective here is to provide this information on another sample. A sample of 242 Mennonite couples with mothers older than 40 years was divided into 3 groups of matings based on how many haplotypes were shared: 0, 1, or 2. The distribution of mean completed family sizes for the three groups were 3.35 ± 1.85 ( n = 23), 3.47 ± 1.69 ( n = 128), and 3.37 ± 1.60 ( n = 91), respectively; these values were not significantly different (F = 0.145, p = 0.865). The log-rank test was used to compare the time-to-next-birth curves. The intervals between first and later births (2-4 births) were not significantly different for the three subgroups either. There is also only limited evidence for segregation distortion in another sample of 923 offspring (in which at least one parent is heterozygous).

Publication Title

Human Biology

Volume

62

Issue

4

First Page

479

Last Page

489

Required Publisher's Statement

Published by: Wayne State University Press

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41932342

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Mennonites--Case studies; Fertility Human; Immunoglobulin allotypes

Genre/Form

articles

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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