Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Volume 72 July 1979

509

Fertility and sex ratio of offspring of female HBsAg carriers' D Livadas MD J Economidou MD PhD J E Hesser PhD

D A Koutras MD S Hadziyannis MD

Department of Clinical Therapeutics and 2nd Department of Medicine, University ofAthens School of Medicine, Vas Sofias and Lourou Street, Athens, Greece

An increased sex ratio (number of males per 100 females) in the offspring of HBsAg carriers in a Greek population was reported in a previous study (Hesser et al. 1975) and an excess of males among the siblings of HBsAg carriers has been observed in a Solomon island population (Mazzur & Watson 1974). Though it was postulated that the alteration in live birth sex ratio was due to selection against the female zygote at the time of implantation (Hesser 1974), the mechanism effecting such selection remains obscure. The purpose of the present study was to further substantiate the observation of a sex ratio disturbance and elucidate the mechanism accounting for it, by analysing data of the fertility and sex ratio of offspring of HBsAg positive and negative married females from 12 Greek villages. Table 1. Incidence of HBsAg among women in twelve villages

Village Melivia Platykambos Sarakina Zagora Tsagarada Panagia Platy Mesopotamia Ypati Evinochorion Fourna Metsovon Total

No. of women tested 76 59 34 88 40 26 249 110 76 146 140 85 1129

HBsAg-positive No.

%

1 3 3

1.31 5.08 8.82

1

2.50

16 6 2 5 3 3

6.42 5.50 2.63 3.42 2.14 5.08

43

3.80

Material and methods A total of 1129 married women aged 18 and older were examined in 12 villages in different areas of Greece. A reproductive history, including the number of live births, spontaneous abortions and twin births was obtained from each woman. The number of newborn deaths (neonatal loss) was obtained for 806 women, and the sex of live births for 764 women. The women examined in the village of Platy were also included with other subjects of the same village in a previous study (Hesser et al. 1975). Blood samples were collected from all women and tested for HBsAg by both reverse passive haemagglutination (Hepanosticon R, Organon) and counter-electrophoresis (Gocke & Howe 1 Accepted 18 July 1978

0 1 41-0768/79/070509-04/$O 1.00/0

,."

1979 The Royal Society of Medicine

510

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Volume 72 July 1979

1970). Active hepatitis and other liver disorders were excluded by clinical examination and history. The women were classified into two groups on the basis of the presence or absence of HBsAg in their sera. The number of live births, spontaneous abortions, neonatal loss and male and female children reported by these two groups of women were compared using the t test. The chi-square test was used to compare the 2 groups of women for childlessness, twin births, and the male: female sex ratio. Results The distribution of HBsAg-positive and HBsAg-negative women in the 12 villages is given in Table 1. Overall, 43 women (3.8%) were identified as HBsAg-positive and 1086 were HBsAgnegative. Results comparing the two groups of women for eight variables are shown in Table 2. It should be noted that data on live births, spontaneous abortions and twin births were obtained for all women, while data on neonatal loss were obtained for 806, of whom 35 were HBsAg-positive, and data for sex of offspring were obtained for 764, of whom 35 were HBsAgpositive. Table 2. Fertility in HBsAg-positive and HBsAg-negative married women and sex ratio of offspring

Live births per woman Spontaneous abortions per woman Neonatal loss per woman Male children per woman Female children per woman Childless per 100 women Twin births per 100 women Sex ratio (males per 100 females)

HBsAg-positive

HBsAg-negative

No. of women tested Mean + s.e.

No. of women tested Mean + s.e.

P

1086 1086 771 729 729 1086 1086 729

0.30 >0.50 >0.40 < 0.001 >0.40 NS

Fertility and sex ratio of offspring of female HBsAg carriers.

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Volume 72 July 1979 509 Fertility and sex ratio of offspring of female HBsAg carriers' D Livadas MD J Econo...
399KB Sizes 0 Downloads 0 Views