Dataset Information

Does the Mother or Father Determine the Offspring Sex Ratio? Investigating the Relationship between Maternal Digit Ratio and Offspring Sex Ratio.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

In mammals, high parental testosterone levels present around the time of conception are thought to skew offspring sex ratio toward sons. The second to fourth digit ratio (digit ratio) is now widely accepted as a negative correlate of prenatal testosterone. Thus, we investigated the association between digit ratio and offspring sex ratio.

Methods

A total of 508 Korean patients (257 males and 251 females) less than 60 years old who had one or more offspring were prospectively enrolled. The lengths of the 2nd and 4th digits of the right hand were measured by a single investigator using a digital vernier calliper. Next, the patients' lifetime offspring birth sex ratios were investigated.

Results

Maternal (rather than paternal) digit ratio was significantly associated with the number of sons (r = -0.153, p = 0.015), number of daughters (r = 0.130, p = 0.039), and offspring sex ratio (r = -0.171, p = 0.007). And, the maternal digit ratio was a significant factor for predicting offspring sex ratio (B = -1.620, p = 0.008) on multiple linear regression analysis. The female patients with a lower digit ratio (< 0.95) were found to have a higher offspring sex ratio (0.609 versus 0.521, p = 0.046) compared to those with a higher digit ratio (? 0.95). Furthermore, females in the low digit ratio group have a probability 1.138 greater of having sons than females in the high digit ratio group.

Conclusions

Maternal digit ratio was negatively associated with offspring sex ratio. Females with a lower digit ratio were more likely to have more male offspring compared to those with a higher digit ratio. Thus, our results suggest that the sex of offspring might be more influenced by maternal rather than paternal factors.

SUBMITTER: Kim TB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4648576 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Does the Mother or Father Determine the Offspring Sex Ratio? Investigating the Relationship between Maternal Digit Ratio and Offspring Sex Ratio.

Kim Tae Beom TB Oh Jin Kyu JK Kim Kwang Taek KT Yoon Sang Jin SJ Kim Soo Woong SW

PloS one 20151117 11

<h4>Objective</h4>In mammals, high parental testosterone levels present around the time of conception are thought to skew offspring sex ratio toward sons. The second to fourth digit ratio (digit ratio) is now widely accepted as a negative correlate of prenatal testosterone. Thus, we investigated the association between digit ratio and offspring sex ratio.<h4>Methods</h4>A total of 508 Korean patients (257 males and 251 females) less than 60 years old who had one or more offspring were prospectiv ...[more]

PMID: 26575995

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundNumerous intrauterine factors may affect the offspring's growth during childhood. We aimed to explore if maternal and paternal prenatal lipid, apolipoprotein (apo)B and apoA1 levels are associated with offspring weight, length, and body mass index from 6 weeks to eight years of age. This has previously been studied to a limited extent.MethodsThis parental negative control study is based on the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study and uses data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. We included 713 mothers and fathers with or without self-reported hypercholesterolemia and their offspring. Seven parental metabolites were measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and offspring weight and length were measured at 12 time points. Data were analyzed by linear spline mixed models, and the results are presented as the interaction between parental metabolite levels and offspring spline (age).ResultsHigher maternal total cholesterol (TC) level was associated with a larger increase in offspring body weight up to 8 years of age (0.03 ≤ Pinteraction ≤ 0.04). Paternal TC level was not associated with change in offspring body weight (0.17 ≤ Pinteraction ≤ 0.25). Higher maternal high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and apoA1 levels were associated with a lower increase in offspring body weight up to 8 years of age (0.001 ≤ Pinteraction ≤ 0.005). Higher paternal HDL-C and apoA1 levels were associated with a lower increase in offspring body weight up to 5 years of age but a larger increase in offspring body weight from 5 to 8 years of age (0.01 ≤ Pinteraction ≤ 0.03). Parental metabolites were not associated with change in offspring height or body mass index up to 8 years of age (0.07 ≤ Pinteraction ≤ 0.99).ConclusionsMaternal compared to paternal TC, HDL-C, and apoA1 levels were more strongly and consistently associated with offspring body weight during childhood, supporting a direct intrauterine effect.

Dataset Information

Does the Mother or Father Determine the Offspring Sex Ratio? Investigating the Relationship between Maternal Digit Ratio and Offspring Sex Ratio.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Does the Mother or Father Determine the Offspring Sex Ratio? Investigating the Relationship between Maternal Digit Ratio and Offspring Sex Ratio.

Similar Datasets

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