Industrial pollution may be behind a drop in the birth of baby boys

Researchers in Scotland say industrial pollution may be behind a drop in the number of boys being born.

Normally, in Britain and across the world, slightly more boys are born than girls, but the authors of the Stirling University study found that the ratio of boys to girls being born is falling, particularly in more industrial regions.

The researchers, led by Dr Ewan McDonald and Prof Andrew Watterson, wanted to discover what was behind this trend. Suspecting air pollution and socio-economic status, their study focused on a mix of heavily industrialized areas, including major sites of pollution such as a coal-fired power station, as well as rural areas with low pollution levels.

And, while their results did find that the wealthiest communities were more likely to have boys, the clearest link discovered was to pollution - specifically endocrine disruptor pollution that affects hormones.

This discovery is backed up small studies in heavily industrialized areas of Canada and elsewhere in the world.

"We run faster and faster introducing new products and processes," said researcher Dr. Ewan McDonald. "Yet we don't properly understand how they may affect us. Great care is needed in approving and regulating such developments when we lack the necessary information to assess their risks adequately."

The findings have been published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health.

Source: BBCnews

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