Declined sex ratio at birth in Fallujah (Iraq) during Iraq war with Iran

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to investigate whether the sex ratio at birth (SRB, male proportion) alter in Iraq during its war against Iran (1980-1988). Here we compared 785 births (348 males, 437 females) during 1980-1989 with 1144 births (655 males, 489 females) before 1980 and 2914 births (1496 males, 1418 females) after 1989 in Fallujah, Iraq. The SRB significantly decreased during 1980-1989 in comparison with the ratios before 1980 (OR=0.595, 95 % CI: 0.495-0.714, P<0.001) and after 1989 (OR=0.755, 95 % CI: 0.644-0.884, P=0.001). Considering that the Iran-Iraq war began at 1980 and ended in 1988, therefore it seems that the SRB decreased in Fallujah (Iraq) during the war.