Abstract
BackgroundSocio-economic conditions can affect the secondary sex ratio in humans. Mothers under good environmental conditions are predicted to increase the birth rates of sons according to the Trivers-Willard hypothesis (TWH). This study analyzed the effects of ownership and non-ownership of dwellings on the sex ratio at birth (SRB) on a Ugandan sample.Methodology/Principal FindingsOur investigation included 438,640 mothers aged between 12 and 54 years. The overall average SRB was 0.5008. Mothers who live in owned dwellings gave increased births to sons (0.5019) compared to those who live in non-owned dwellings (0.458). Multivariate statistics revealed the strongest effects of dwelling ownership when controlling for demographic and social variables such as marital status, type of marriage, mothers’ age, mothers’ education, parity and others.Conclusions/SignificanceThe results are discussed in the framework of recent plausible models dealing with the adjustment of the sex ratio. We conclude that the aspect of dwelling status could represent an important socio-economic parameter in relation to SRB variations in humans if further studies are able to analyze it between different countries in a comparative way.
Highlights
The sex ratio at birth (SRB = male to female live-births) exhibits a male surplus
Parameters such as birth order of siblings or parity correlated with parental age have an impact on SRB rates [7,10,11]
SRB and Mothers Age Analyses of SRBs classified by mothers age showed in six ageintervals increased boy births for those who resides in dwellings owned by a family member (Figure 2 a, c, d, e, f, g)
Summary
Elevated SRB values may be related, for example, to different seasonal conditions or increased temperature, to time of insemination within the menstrual cycle or copulatory frequencies, to female social dominance associated with elevated testosterone concentrations, or stressful occupational conditions [4,5,6,7,8,9] Parameters such as birth order of siblings or parity correlated with parental age have an impact on SRB rates [7,10,11]. Stein et al [16] conducted their study in other regions of Ethiopia than Gibson and Mace and used a different methodological approach They concluded that nutritional status only marginally affected SRB rates. This study analyzed the effects of ownership and non-ownership of dwellings on the sex ratio at birth (SRB) on a Ugandan sample
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
