Sex ratios at birth and environmental temperatures.
The relationship between average monthly air temperature and sex ratios at birth (SRB) was analyzed for children born in Germany during the period 1946-1995. Both the absolute temperature and--more markedly--the monthly temperature deviations from the overall mean were significantly positively correlated with the SRB (P < 0.01) when temperatures were time-lagged against the SRB data by -10 or -11 months. It is concluded that the sex of the offspring is partially determined by environmental temperatures prior to conception.
Lerchl
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Institute of Reproductive Medicine, University of Münster, Germany. Lerchl@uni-muenster.de
D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization / Q000502:physiology*; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012621:Seasons; D012744:Sex Ratio; D013696:Temperature