title: Sex ratios at birth in Scandinavia over the past sixty years.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The gender ratio at birth (M/F: male births divided by total births) is expected to approximate 0.515. This has shown to be declining in industrialised countries and to display a latitude gradient in Europe, with more males born in southern climates.
  
  
  METHODS
  Annual national data for Scandinavian countries for male and female live births were obtained from the World Health Organisation and analysed with contingency tables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study analysed 18,250,193 live births. A significant decreasing trend in M/F was noted in all countries except Norway, and overall. There was no latitude gradient. M/F was less than 0.515 for almost all countries, with a resultant male deficit of 19,517 live births.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  M/F is decreasing in Scandinavia and M/F overall is <0.515. The interaction of several poorly comprehended factors is likely.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Mater Dei Hospital, Malta. victor.e.grech@gov.mt
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Grech
mesh_terms: D001723:Birth Rate / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries; D012744:Sex Ratio