Furthermore, these females reported that the body odors of HLA-dissimilar males reminded them of their current partners or ex-partners providing further evidence of biological compatibility.
Garver-Apgar et al.[2] presented evidence for HLA-dissimilar alleles playing a factor in the healthiness of romantic relationships.
Additionally, Ober et al.[3] conducted an independent study on a population of American Hutterites by comparing the HLA alleles of married couples.
Further evidence of the importance of genetic compatibility can be found in the finding that couples sharing a higher proportion of HLA alleles tend to have recurring spontaneous abortions,[4] reduced body mass in babies,[4] and longer intervals between successive births.
[6] Analyses of data from the International HapMap Project has not found a consistent relationship between marital partners and genes related to the immune system.