Multivariate analysis of the correlation of sex ratio at birth with health and socioeconomic indicators

Abstract

The sex ratio at birth (M/F i.e. males divided by total births) has been mooted as a potential sentinel health indicator, with possible public health implications since shifts in M/F may indicate significant impacts on populations. Several metrics indicate individual countries' health and socioeconomic status, and these are listed in Table 1 along with their definitions. In this study, in all available countries (where such data was accessible), M/F and these indicators were compared in a multivariate analysis in order to ascertain whether better (vis-à-vis health and socioeconomic status) levels of these indicators were associated with higher M/F in available countries. This follows up a previous study wherein several of these indicators were indivually correlated with M/F