DO ALCOHOL AND LEAD CHANGE THE SEX-RATIO

It has been suggested that exposure to alcohol and lead may decrease testosterone levels in men which in turn may lead to an increase in the proportion of girls among their offspring. This hypothesis is tested on a new dataset of 268 109 children born in Cumbria from 1950-89. From fathers' occupations given on birth certificates, we calculated the sex ratio for offspring of men exposed occupationally to alcohol and lead. We carried out a meta-analysis of the present and previous studies. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that alcohol and lead lower the sex ratio.