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Sex ratio patterns according to Asian ethnicity in Québec, 1981–2004

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Abstract

Elevated ratios of male to female births are emerging in Asian countries due to selective abortion of female foetuses. Little research has evaluated the possibility of sex selection among Asians in the West. We evaluated patterns in the secondary sex ratio (SSR, number of male per 100 female births) according to ethnicity in Québec, Canada. We performed a population-based retrospective analysis of live and still births in urban Québec, 1981–2004 (N = 1,612,614 live births). Outcomes included: (1) first and second order SSR over four consecutive 6-year intervals analysed according to parental mother tongue, parental birth region, and mothers still speaking her mother tongue at home, (2) adjusted relative risk (RR) of female birth by parental ethnicity, and (3) estimated number of unborn females. For the period 1987–1992, first order SSRs were elevated (range 118–121) for Indo–Pakistani parental mother tongue and mothers currently speaking Indo–Pakistani at home. Second order SSRs were not elevated. For Indo–Pakistani mother tongues, the RR of female birth was lower than French/English in the same period (adjusted RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.92–0.99). SSRs were not imbalanced in the late 1990s among Indo–Pakistani parents, or among Chinese ethnicity in any study period. The SSR in Québec was elevated in the 1980s and early 1990s among firstborn relative to subsequent born infants of Indo–Pakistani descent. The reason for this imbalance is unclear. Further research in other Western settings is necessary to evaluate the possibility of sex selection.

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Abbreviations

CI:

Confidence interval

FIGO:

International Federation of Gynaecology & Obstetrics

RR:

Relative risk

SSR:

Secondary sex ratio

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Acknowledgments

NA conceived and designed the study, analysed and interpreted the data, performed the literature search, wrote the article, and is the guarantor for the study. MD contributed to interpretation of the data and critical revision of the article. SM assisted with the classification of country groups and critical revision of the article. All authors approved the published version. There are no additional contributors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut National de santé publique du Québec, Unité Études et analyses de l’état de santé de la population, 190, boulevard Crémazie Est, Montreal, QC, Canada, H2P 1E2

    Nathalie Auger

  2. Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

    Nathalie Auger & Mark Daniel

  3. School of Health Sciences, The University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

    Mark Daniel

  4. School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada

    Spencer Moore

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  1. Nathalie Auger
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Correspondence to Nathalie Auger.

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Auger, N., Daniel, M. & Moore, S. Sex ratio patterns according to Asian ethnicity in Québec, 1981–2004. Eur J Epidemiol 24, 17–24 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-008-9307-6

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