Sex Ratio at Birth in Northern Ireland During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison With Published Data From the Republic of Ireland, England and Wales

IF 1.6 4区医学 Q1 ANTHROPOLOGY

American Journal of Human Biology Pub Date : 2025-06-27 DOI:10.1002/ajhb.70099

Gwinyai Masukume, Peyton Cleaver, Roy K. Philip, Victor Grech, Amy L. Non

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Abstract

Objectives

The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked in several countries to fluctuations in the proportion of male live births/total live births, known as the sex ratio at birth (SRB). This study investigates how the pandemic influenced SRB patterns in Northern Ireland compared to published data from neighboring regions, including the Republic of Ireland with which it shares an open land border, and England and Wales, across the sea.

Methods

Monthly live birth data for Northern Ireland from 2015 to 2021 were obtained from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. A time series analysis predicted the SRB for 2020 using data from 2015 to 2019. Predicted and observed SRB values were compared for 2020.

Results

In August 2020, 5 months after the pandemic declaration, the SRB fell significantly to 49.13%, the period's lowest, below the 95% prediction interval (50.09%–51.85%). In December 2020, 9 months after the declaration, the SRB rose to 54.48%, exceeding the prediction interval (49.75%–51.57%). This overall SRB pattern resembled that in England and Wales but differed from the Republic of Ireland.

Conclusion

The decline in SRB in August 2020, occurring 3–5 months after the pandemic declaration, suggests the pandemic disproportionately affected male fetuses in Northern Ireland. The rise in December, 9 months after the declaration, may relate to increased sexual activity in March 2020 following lockdown in a subset of the population. Northern Ireland's SRB pattern aligns more with England and Wales than the Republic of Ireland, indicating that socio-political ties in the United Kingdom may be more influential for pandemic response than geographical proximity.

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2019冠状病毒病大流行期间北爱尔兰出生人口性别比：与爱尔兰共和国、英格兰和威尔士公布数据的比较

在一些国家，2019冠状病毒病大流行与男性活产/总活产比例（即出生性别比）的波动有关。本研究调查了大流行如何影响北爱尔兰的SRB模式，并将其与邻近地区（包括与其共享开放陆地边界的爱尔兰共和国以及隔海相望的英格兰和威尔士）公布的数据进行了比较。方法从北爱尔兰统计与研究局获取2015 - 2021年北爱尔兰每月活产数据。时间序列分析使用2015年至2019年的数据预测了2020年的SRB。对2020年的SRB预测值和观测值进行了比较。结果2020年8月，疫情宣布5个月后，SRB显著下降至49.13%，为期间最低，低于95%预测区间（50.09% ~ 51.85%）。在宣布9个月后的2020年12月，SRB升至54.48%，超出了预测区间（49.75%-51.57%）。这种总体的SRB模式与英格兰和威尔士相似，但与爱尔兰共和国不同。结论2020年8月新生儿出生率下降，发生在大流行宣布后3-5个月，表明大流行对北爱尔兰男性胎儿的影响不成比例。在宣布隔离9个月后的12月，这一数字出现上升，可能与2020年3月部分人口被封锁后性活动增加有关。北爱尔兰的SRB模式更接近英格兰和威尔士，而不是爱尔兰共和国，这表明联合王国的社会政治关系可能比地理邻近更能影响大流行病的应对。

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来源期刊

American Journal of Human Biology 生物-生物学

CiteScore

4.80

自引率

13.80%

发文量

124

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： The American Journal of Human Biology is the Official Journal of the Human Biology Association. The American Journal of Human Biology is a bimonthly, peer-reviewed, internationally circulated journal that publishes reports of original research, theoretical articles and timely reviews, and brief communications in the interdisciplinary field of human biology. As the official journal of the Human Biology Association, the Journal also publishes abstracts of research presented at its annual scientific meeting and book reviews relevant to the field. The Journal seeks scholarly manuscripts that address all aspects of human biology, health, and disease, particularly those that stress comparative, developmental, ecological, or evolutionary perspectives. The transdisciplinary areas covered in the Journal include, but are not limited to, epidemiology, genetic variation, population biology and demography, physiology, anatomy, nutrition, growth and aging, physical performance, physical activity and fitness, ecology, and evolution, along with their interactions. The Journal publishes basic, applied, and methodologically oriented research from all areas, including measurement, analytical techniques and strategies, and computer applications in human biology. Like many other biologically oriented disciplines, the field of human biology has undergone considerable growth and diversification in recent years, and the expansion of the aims and scope of the Journal is a reflection of this growth and membership diversification. The Journal is committed to prompt review, and priority publication is given to manuscripts with novel or timely findings, and to manuscripts of unusual interest.