Altered Sex Ratios in Offspring of U.S. Submariners Urban Legend or Fact – Do Submariners Have More Daughters?
Abstract
There is a widespread and long-held belief in the submarine community that submariners father more daughters than the general population. The U.S. Sex Ratio at birth (males/females) has remained around 1.05 since the early 2000s. Limited evidence exists that certain environmental exposures including chemicals, heavy metals, radiation and g-forces may influence sex ratio at birth. A reduction in male births in a population has been associated with lower male fertility. A 1970 single site study showed a higher ratio of female offspring in personnel serving aboard U.S. Navy nuclear submarines than the general population. A 2004 study concluded that this was probably not true. However, this study was small, and did not evaluate the difference between children conceived during sea duty versus shore duty. They did note a higher chance of female offspring correlated with a longer time in the community, as well as an increased ratio in sonar technicians. These findings warrant further investigation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 24, 2019
- Source ID
- 10.1093/milmed/usy390
Entities
People
- Cara Olsen
- Kathleen Kramer
- Kimberly Hickey
- Martin Ottolini
- Sorana Raiciulescu
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center