Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
2007-1-16
pubmed:abstractText
The boy-to-girl ratio at birth (secondary sex ratio) is around 0.51 in most populations. The sex ratio varies between societies and may be influenced by many factors, such as stress and immunosuppression, age, primiparity, the sex of the preceding siblings and the socioeconomic status of the parents. As parasite infection affects many immunological and physiological parameters of the host, we analyzed the effect of latent toxoplasmosis on sex ratios in humans. Clinical records of 1,803 infants born from 1996 to 2004 contained information regarding the mother's age, concentration of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies, previous deliveries and abortions and the sex of the newborn. The results of our retrospective cohort study suggest that the presence of one of the most common parasites (with a worldwide prevalence from 20 to 80%), Toxoplasma gondii, can influence the secondary sex ratio in humans. Depending on the antibody concentration, the probability of the birth of a boy can increase up to a value of 0.72, C.I.95 = (0.636, 0.805), which means that for every 260 boys born, 100 girls are born to women with the highest concentration of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies. The toxoplasmosis associated with immunosuppression or immunomodulation might be responsible for the enhanced survival of male embryos. In light of the high prevalence of latent toxoplasmosis in most countries, the impact of toxoplasmosis on the human population might be considerable.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
0028-1042
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
94
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
122-7
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2007
pubmed:articleTitle
Women infected with parasite Toxoplasma have more sons.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Parasitology, Charles University, Vinicná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't