Ambient temperature predicts sex ratios and male longevity.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 18250336.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.0710711104 and PMC identifier 2538905.
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Abstract
The theory that natural selection has conserved mechanisms by which women subjected to environmental stressors abort frail male fetuses implies that climate change may affect sex ratio at birth and male longevity. Using time series methods, we find that cold ambient temperatures during gestation predict lower secondary sex ratios and longer life span of males in annual birth cohorts composed of Danes, Finns, Norwegians, and Swedes born between 1878 (earliest year with complete life tables) and 1914 (last birth cohort for which male life span can be estimated). We conclude that ambient temperature affects the characteristics of human populations by influencing who survives gestation, a heretofore unrecognized effect of climate on humanity.
Medical subject headings
- Longevity
- Sex Ratio
- Temperature