Society and Genetics 101
March 2, 2016
HIBM in the Persian Jewish Community of Los Angeles, California
Hereditary Inclusion Body Myopathies (HIBM) is a common group of genetic disorders found primarily in individuals who are of Iranian Jewish decent (Argov and Yarom, 1984). Although HIBM is often seen in Persian Jews, patients can be of various backgrounds. Cases of HIBM have been seen in patients of other Middle Eastern cultures, as well as in those of Thai, African and Japanese descent (Huizing and Krasnewich, 2009). There are different genetic forms of HIBM; most are autosomal recessive but it also exists in an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance as well (Darvish, 2008). Both forms arise from a mutation in a single gene …show more content…
Statistics show that the Persian Jewish Community in LA outnumbers that of Iran. Currently, there is a population of approximately 25,000- 35,000 Jews living in Iran (Demick, 2004). As of 2008, there were over 50,000 Iranian residing in Los Angeles, making in the largest concentration of Persian Jews (Fiske and Abdollah, 2008).
If you are Persian and Jewish, there is a lot of social pressure in the community to marry someone who is also Persian and Jewish as it is typically looked very down upon to marry outside of the culture. Having such a diverse and large Persian Jewish population in Los Angeles it makes it very feasible for individuals to date and marry someone who is culturally similar to …show more content…
My uncle married his first cousin, 3 of my moms cousins married their first cousins, etc. It just happens to be that 4 of my cousins (from two different uncles) have various forms of muscle dystrophy. If their parents were not relatives the chances of their children being affected would have been substantially lowered (Bittles and Black, 2009). I asked my grandma why many of her family members chose to marry relatives and she responded by saying “What is wrong with it? Look at blank and blank. They are happy and none of their children have issues.” This demonstrated to me that many individuals in my culture do not understand the severity and potential consequences that can come from marrying relatives. I find this to be extremely problematic for I have 4 first cousins that are suffering greatly from different versions of muscle myopathies. I would do anything in the world to advocate and educate individuals on the important of genetics testing prior to pregnancy to prevent these