No birth sex ratio changes in the United States in 1977 following Elvis Presley’s death

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In humans, males are born slightly in excess of females such that male divided by total births (M/T) approximates 0.515. Many factors influence M/T, including acutely stressful events. This study was carried out to ascertain whether the death of Elvis Presley (1977) caused any perturbations in M/T in the following months in the United States.

METHODS: Anonymous data (male and female births) was obtained from publicly available online datasets as white and non-white births.

RESULTS: There were 3,235,291 (1658996 male and 1,576,295 female) births in 1977 with M/T=0.5128 (95% CI: 0.5122-0.5133). A seasonal pattern is evident in M/T for the United States for 1977. There were no obvious perturbations of this baseline after Presley’s death including by race.

DISCUSSION: Monthly cycles in M/T have been observed including in the United States. Acute stress has been shown to reduce M/T after the death of important and loved personages but this did not occur following the demise of Presley, possibly due to his slow career decline prior to his death.