Can economic stress affect secondary sex ratio in Poland?

Abstract

The ratio of male to female births described as the male proportion is expected to be about 1.06. The secondary sex ratio can be influenced by various stresses experienced by parents (e.g., parents' exposure to chemical and physical pollution, natural phenomena, wars and economic crises). The seminal study in this field speculated that fewer goods and services than needed or desired might sufficiently stress human populations to lower the secondary sex ratio. The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between economic stress and the fluctuations of sex ratio at birth in Poland. The statistical analysis was based on annual demographic data obtained from year-books issued by the Central Statistical Office on the overall number of male and female live births in Poland in the years 1956-2005 as well as on the annual data of percentage change in total private consumption. In order to verify the hypothesis that the observed time-series of the secondary sex ratio in Poland declines with deterioration in economic conditions, we constructed mathematical models (ARIMA) of both analyzed phenomena following the statistical procedure proposed by . We found a statistically significant decline of SSR in Poland over the last 50 years. The decrease appeared to be stronger in villages than in towns. However, the consumption rate as related to the strength of economic stress had no effect on the fluctuation of the sex ratio at birth.KEY WORDS: proportion of male live births, SSR, human sex ratio, total private consumption

Did the Sex Ratio at Birth Reflect Social and Economic Inequalities? The Pilot Study from the Poznań Province, 1875–1913

“…18 of responses to acute environmental stress is the modification of the natural sex ratio of the offspring, which manifests itself in a decrease in the SRB value. 26 Therefore, the index of male-to-female live births is considered a "measure" of adverse environmental conditions caused by ecological, economic, or political factors, etc. Studies of contemporary and historical populations have shown that wars, armed conflicts and economic crises can be sources of stress for the human body, including that of a pregnant woman.…”

Maternal stress and sex ratio at birth in Sweden over two and a half centuries: a retest of the Trivers–Willard hypothesis

“… Helle et al (2009) found a non-significant relationship between SRB and percentage change in real gross domestic product (GDP) in Finland in 1865–2003. Another study showed no relationship between consumption and SRB in Poland when using annual data for the period 1956–2005 ( Żądzińska et al , 2007 ), while a later investigation conducted by the same researchers using quarterly data for the period 1995–2007 reported a reduction in SRB in Poland four quarters after the occurrence of economic decline ( Żądzińska et al , 2011 ). An integrative review article suggested that the association between economic stress and SRB presented in former research remained largely speculative and acknowledged the needs for more research on this topic ( Margerison Zilko, 2010 ).…”

Economic stress or random variation? Revisiting German reunification as a natural experiment to investigate the effect of economic contraction on sex ratios at birth

“…Helle et al [ 15 ] likewise found a negative, yet smaller, association between GDP and the SRB in Finland between 1865 and 2003, controlling for a range of additional contextual influences on the SRB. However, a time series analysis examining the links between consumption data and the SRB for Poland between 1956 and 2005, Żądzińska et al [ 18 ], found no association. A positive association between economic conditions and the SRB appeared in Cuba after the economic collapse in the early 1990s [ 19 ].…”