Acute undernutrition is not associated with excess of females at birth in humans: the Dutch hunger winter

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
Aryeh D SteinL H Lumey

Abstract

It has been suggested that maternal undernutrition results in adjustment of the sex ratio at birth, favouring females. We tested this hypothesis using births during the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944-1945, an acute severe famine of seven months' duration. There was no evidence of an excess of female births among deliveries of human infants exposed to famine in any period in gestation. Indeed, among deliveries to women maximally exposed to famine prior to conception, there was an excess (odds ratio = 1.31, 95% CI 1.09-1.58; p = 0.004) of male offspring. Our data do not provide any support for acute and severe maternal undernutrition as a trigger for an increase in female conceptions or in male foetal deaths in human populations.

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Citations

Jul 14, 2010·Journal of Biosocial Science·Sophie HohmannMichel Garenne
Nov 1, 2011·American Journal of Epidemiology·Allen J Wilcox, Donna D Baird
Jun 27, 2007·International Journal of Epidemiology·L H LumeyEzra S Susser
Oct 11, 2012·PloS One·Madhukar Shivajirao Dama
Jan 12, 2011·Annual Review of Public Health·L H LumeyEzra Susser
Aug 14, 2012·Fertility and Sterility·Anne Z Steiner
Nov 5, 2015·Early Human Development·Shige Song
Dec 3, 2014·Journal of Health Economics·Robert S ScholteMaarten Lindeboom
Aug 26, 2010·Population and Development Review·Michael Murphy
Aug 25, 2015·International Journal of Public Health·Dell D Saulnier, Kim Brolin
Aug 19, 2014·Human Nature : an Interdisciplinary Biosocial Perspective·Shige Song
Jan 25, 2013·Evolutionary Applications·Ralph CatalanoMartin Kharrazi
Dec 3, 2016·American Journal of Human Biology : the Official Journal of the Human Biology Council·J GroegerD Malaspina
Jun 23, 2019·Scientific Reports·Ryan SchachtKen R Smith

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