The Association between Season of Pregnancy and Birth-Sex among Chinese

Tan Xu, Dongdong Lin, Hui Liang, Mei Chen, Weijun Tong, Yongping Mu, Cindy Xin Feng, Yongqing Gao, Yumei Zheng and Wenjie Sun
Additional contact information
Tan Xu: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China
Dongdong Lin: School of Science and Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
Hui Liang: Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310051, China
Mei Chen: Longquanyi District First Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan 610100, China
Weijun Tong: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China
Yongping Mu: The Affiliated People's Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010110, China
Cindy Xin Feng: School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon SK S7N 5E5, Canada
Yongqing Gao: School of Food Science, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Zhongshan 528458, China
Yumei Zheng: Center for Science Communication and Health Education Management, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing 100081, China
Wenjie Sun: School of Food Science, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Zhongshan 528458, China

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-9

Abstract: Objective : although numerous studies have reported the association between birth season and sex ratio, few studies have been conducted in subtropical regions in a non-Western setting. The present study assessed the effects of pregnancy season on birth sex ratio in China. Methods : We conducted a national population-based retrospective study from 2006–2008 with 3175 children-parents pairs enrolled in the Northeast regions of China. Demographics and data relating to pregnancy and birth were collected and analyzed. A multiple logistical regression model was fitted to estimate the regression coefficient and 95% confidence interval (CI) of refractive error for mother pregnancy season, adjusting for potential confounders. Results : After adjusting for parental age (cut-off point was 30 years), region, nationality, mother education level, and mother miscarriage history, there is a significant statistical different mother pregnancy season on birth-sex. Compared with mothers who were pregnant in spring, those pregnant in summer or winter had a high probability of delivering girls ( p < 0.05). The birth-sex ratio varied with months. Conclusions : Our results suggested that mothers pregnant in summer and winter were more likely to deliver girls, compared with those pregnant in spring. Pregnancy season may play an important role in the birth-sex.

Keywords: season; birth-sex; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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