Effects of season of birth on reproduction in contemporary humans: Brief communication

BACKGROUND: At high latitudes the external environment varies with season, and therefore the season of birth may contribute to the developmental processes during the perinatal period. METHODS: We investigated the association between birth season and measures of reproductive performance (offspring co...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human reproduction (Oxford) 2004-02, Vol.19 (2), p.445-447
Main Authors: Huber, S., Fieder, M., Wallner, B., Iber, K., Moser, G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Embryology: invertebrates and vertebrates. Teratology
Family Characteristics
Female
fertility rate/offspring count/photoperiod/reproduction/season
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Middle Aged
Parturition
Photoperiod
Pregnancy
Reproduction
Reproductive Behavior
Seasons
Sex Characteristics
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:BACKGROUND: At high latitudes the external environment varies with season, and therefore the season of birth may contribute to the developmental processes during the perinatal period. METHODS: We investigated the association between birth season and measures of reproductive performance (offspring count, percentage childless individuals) in a contemporary sample of women and men. RESULTS: In the male sample (n = 2342), men born in autumn had fewer offspring (mean 1.4 versus 1.62; P < 0.01) and a higher probability of remaining childless (32.6% versus 25.6%; P = 0.01) than men born in spring. The photoperiod at a male’s birth was significantly positively correlated with his subsequent offspring count (P = 0.023). In the female sample, an association between birth season and reproduction was not found. CONCLUSIONS: We assume that in men, among other seasonal factors, pre‐ or perinatal photoperiod might be involved in the underlying physiological mechanism.
ISSN:0268-1161
1460-2350
1460-2350
DOI:10.1093/humrep/deh072