The book focuses on the role of both biological and behavioural factors in the fertility, and specific patterns of health and disease, of minority populations living in developed and less developed countries. The importance of marriages contracted between close relatives is stressed, as over 900 million people inhabit countries where 20 to 50 per cent of marriages are inbred. Past, present and future trends in population mixing are evaluated, with special consideration of their effects on the health of minorities.

Inhalt
Preface - Notes on the Contributors - Minority Populations as Genetic Isolates: The Interpretation of Inbreeding Results; J.V.Neel - Consanguinity and Genetic Disease in Finland's Swedish-Speaking Minority; L.B.Jorde, K.J.Pitk nen, E.O'Brien & A.W.Eriksson - The Gelton Lecture for 1990: The Price of Isolation; D.F.Roberts - Herero Demographic History; H.Harpending & R.Pennington - Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing the Spread of Myotonic Dystrophy in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Region of the Province of Quebec; S.Veillette, M.Perron, J.Mathieu, C.Pr vost & G.H bert - Consanguineous Marriage in Southern Asia: Incidence, Causes and Effects; A.H.Bittles, S.A.Shami & N.A.Rao - A Health Profile of Britain's Ethnic Minorities; R.Balarajan & V.S.Raleigh - A Prospective Study on the Health of Birmingham Babies in Different Ethnic Groups: Interim Findings; S.Bundey - Health Problems of the Turkish Minority in Germany: Experiences with a Prenatal Thalassaemia Detection Programme; W.Holzgreve, P.Miny, S.Tercanli & J.Horst - Neonatal Screening for Sickle Cell Disease in London Neonates; A.J.Bellingham, S.Henderson, K.Fishlock, L.Oni & M.E.C.Horn - Demographic Characteristics of the Ethnic Minority Populations of Great Britain; J.Haskey - Ethnic Intermarriage; D.Coleman - Assortative Mating among Minority Ethnic Groups in Moscow and Other Large Cities of the USSR; O.L.Kurbatova & E.Y.Pobedonosteva - Future Global Strategies for Health Care Delivery to Minorities; V.Ramalingaswami, I.C.Verma & B.Aronson - Index