Fewer boys born in New York after 9/11 attacks

Anxiety and stress in New York city in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center five years ago may have resulted in the birth of fewer boys months later, research shows.

Based on more than 700 000 births in New York city between January 1996 and June 2002, the study shows that the birth sex ratio for the city dropped to below one in the January after the attacks—its lowest level (Human Reproduction 2006 Aug 26, doi: 10.1093/humrep/del283).

One theory …