title: The sex ratio at birth in France was unchanged 9months after the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
abstract: Positive psychological phenomena such as increased feelings of belonging linked to hosting the FIFA World Cup were observed in France 1998 and South Africa 2010. Approximately nine months after South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup the sex ratio at birth increased significantly. Given the similarity of positive psychological phenomena between the two countries, this study sought to determine if the sex ratio at birth increased in France circa nine months after the 1998 World Cup.
  
  
  
  Anonymized publicly available live birth data from 1994 to 2004 inclusive was obtained from the Insee (Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes/Économiques - National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies). For statistical analysis, chi-squared tests were used.
  
  
  
  The sex ratio at birth for March and April 1999 did not differ significantly from that of the rest of same period from 1996 to 2000 (p=0.558), there was also no significant difference for February and March 1999.
  
  
  
  The sex ratio at birth did not increase in France after it hosted the 1998 World Cup. Possible reasons why the sex ratio at birth did not increase as it did in South Africa include a higher French prevalence of modern contraceptive use and a different kind/level of excitement for the World Cup in France since it has previously hosted large international sports tournaments. The influence of the World Cup on the sex ratio at birth depends on the context of a specific country.
authors.affiliation: Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT), Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Gravida: National Centre for Growth & Development, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Electronic address: parturitions@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gwinyai
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Masukume
authors.affiliation: Academic Department of Paediatrics, Medical School, Mater Dei Hospital, Malta. Electronic address: victor.e.grech@gov.mt.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Grech
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012744:Sex Ratio; D012916:Soccer
keywords: France; Population stress; Pregnancy; Sex ratio; World Cup