Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40419004›Full record

ArticleAnnals of epidemiology2025

Association of preconception maternal glucocorticoid concentrations with sex ratio at birth: Evidence from a prospective cohort study.

Mihret Melaku, Diana L Juvinao-Quintero, Sixto E Sanchez, Marta B Rondon, Clemens Kirschbaum, Michelle A Williams, Bizu Gelaye

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In one paragraph

Article in Annals of epidemiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Mihret MelakuHarvard College, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Diana L Juvinao-QuinteroDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: djq@hsph.harvard.edu.
Sixto E SanchezUniversidad de San Martín de Porres, Facultad de Medicina Humana, Instituto de Investigación, Lima, Peru.
Marta B RondonDepartment of Medicine, Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University, Lima, Peru.
Clemens KirschbaumTechnische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Michelle A WilliamsDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Bizu GelayeDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Epidemiology Branch, Division of Population Health Research, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Funding

Intergenerational impact of maternal trauma history on preschoolers' behavioral health outcomes: Assessing links with caregiving sensitivity and DNA methylationR01HD102342 · NICHD · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI BASU, ARCHANA · 2020 to 2024
$3.0M
The Role of Hypothalamic Pituitary - Adrenal Axis Dysregulation in Preterm BirthR21HD102822 · NICHD · HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI GELAYE, BIZU · 2020 to 2021
$447k
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD102342NICHD NIH HHS R21 HD102822
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo examine the association between maternal preconception glucocorticoid concentrations and the sex ratio at birth (SRB).

methodsWe analyzed data from 1106 pregnant women in a birth cohort study in Lima, Peru, focusing on singleton live births with complete data for preconception glucocorticoids, newborn sex, and covariates. Hair samples of 6 cm were collected in the first trimester and analyzed using LC-MS/MS to extract cortisol (HCC) and cortisone concentrations (HCNC) from the 3-6 cm hair segment. Baseline maternal characteristics were described using descriptive statistics. Unadjusted and adjusted Poisson regressions assessed associations between preconception glucocorticoids and newborn sex.

resultsMost of the samples were Mestizos, multiparous, and married women. The observed SRB was 0.52 (576 males out of 1106 total births). Adjusted regressions revealed an association between higher preconception HCC and an 8 % reduction in male births (95 % CI = 0.85, 0.99). Quartile comparisons showed a 13 % decline in male births in the highest versus the lowest quartile of preconception HCC, with similar trends seen for HCNC.

conclusionThe observed SRB aligns with global averages, and the inverse relationship between preconception cortisol levels and male births supports prior evidence linking maternal stress to SRB variation. This study underscores the potential role of maternal stress and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in influencing reproductive outcomes.

Indexed as

CortisoneGlucocorticoidsHairHydrocortisoneSex RatioAdultFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornMalePeruPregnancyProspective StudiesYoung AdultCortisoneGlucocorticoidsHydrocortisoneHair glucocorticoidsMaternal stressPregnancyReproductive outcomesSex ratio at birth

Identifiers

PMID40419004
PMCPMC12186245

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.