Monthly number of newborns and environmental physical activity.
In the last decades many studies have demonstrated the cosmophysical influences on human homeostasis. The aim of the study was to explore links between environmental physical activity--solar, geomagnetic, cosmic ray--and monthly number of newborns in general and, separately, for each gender.


METHODS
The distribution of newborns' number (n=286,963) over 96 months in the Republic of Lithuania from 1995 to 2002 was compared with the monthly cosmophysical indices nine months before the month of delivery. For the comparison of gender ratio, other 52,289 newborns at the same time were studied in a big Israeli hospital. Pearson's correlation coefficients and their probabilities between the newborns' number and cosmophysical indices were established.


RESULTS
A strong and significant inverse correlation of monthly newborns' number with monthly solar activity indices (r=-0.72, p<0.0001) and similar, but positive, with cosmic ray activity was shown (r=0.67, p<0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
The monthly number of newborns of both genders is strongly and significantly related to the level of monthly cosmic ray and, inverse, to solar activity indices nine months before the month of delivery. Geomagnetic activity was not significantly related to the monthly number of newborns. The subject and mechanism of these relationships needs further investigation.
Stoupel
Elyahu
E
Division of Cardiology, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tiqwna, 49100 Tel Aviv, Israel. stoupel@zahav.net.il
Kalediene
Ramune
R
Petrauskiene
Jadvyga
J
Gaizauskiene
Aldona
A
Israelevich
Peter
P
Abramson
Evgeny
E
Sulkes
Jaqueline
J
D001723:Birth Rate / Q000639:trends*; D003359:Cosmic Radiation; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007557:Israel; D008097:Lithuania; D008297:Male; D011336:Probability; D012737:Sex Factors; D012744:Sex Ratio; D019445:Solar Activity