Offspring gender rates in active duty fighter pilots and flight officers

•Previous small studies have contributed to accounts of a gender discrepancy in the offspring of the fighter jet community.•This study is the first large retrospective review of male active duty pilots and their offspring.•There was no statistical difference in the offspring gender ratios of modern...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2019-08, Vol.87, p.8-10
Main Authors: Mayer, Kaitlyn Huegel, Spitzer, Trimble L.B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Female
Fighter pilots
Flight community
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Male
Military Personnel - statistics & numerical data
Offspring gender
Pilots - statistics & numerical data
Retrospective Studies
Sex Ratio
United States
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Summary:•Previous small studies have contributed to accounts of a gender discrepancy in the offspring of the fighter jet community.•This study is the first large retrospective review of male active duty pilots and their offspring.•There was no statistical difference in the offspring gender ratios of modern fighter pilots’ compared to the general population and flight community.•Further analysis is needed to explore occupational exposures that our national defense force assumes and their potential reproductive effects. It has been reported in small studies that fighter pilots have a higher likelihood of producing female offspring secondary to job-related exposures. No large-scale study has investigated this potential gender disparity. This retrospective study utilized electronic medical record systems to identify men with flight-related occupations within the U.S. military from September 2012 to January 2018. The gender of offspring born to those men at least one year after entry into the flight community were compared to gender rates of children born to the U.S. general population during the same time period. 10,879 and 62,624 children born to fighter pilots and pilots of non-fighter type aircraft respectively were compared. The gender distribution of children born to both communities was similar to U.S. general population trends. This large-scale study provides social reassurances that the degree of risk imposed on our nation’s air defense force does not influence the gender balance of the subsequent generation.
ISSN:0890-6238
1873-1708
DOI:10.1016/j.reprotox.2019.05.001