BACKGROUND: Nonright-handedness, particularly mixed-handedness, has been associated with a number of medical conditions. We examined whether handedness was associated with fecundity, measured by time to pregnancy. METHODS: We used data on parental handedness and time to pregnancy from 2 regional birth cohorts in Denmark: the Aalborg-Odense Birth Cohort (1984-1987) and the Aarhus Birth Cohort (1990-1992) (n = 5808 and 3426, respectively). We applied discrete-time survival analysis to assess fecundity in relation to handedness. RESULTS: In both cohorts, we saw a slightly lower fecundity in individuals who reported being mixed-handed. CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed a modest association between mixed-handedness and subfecundity, which suggests that these traits may share a common etiology, perhaps tracing back to the prenatal period.
BACKGROUND: Nonright-handedness, particularly mixed-handedness, has been associated with a number of medical conditions. We examined whether handedness was associated with fecundity, measured by time to pregnancy. METHODS: We used data on parental handedness and time to pregnancy from 2 regional birth cohorts in Denmark: the Aalborg-Odense Birth Cohort (1984-1987) and the Aarhus Birth Cohort (1990-1992) (n = 5808 and 3426, respectively). We applied discrete-time survival analysis to assess fecundity in relation to handedness. RESULTS: In both cohorts, we saw a slightly lower fecundity in individuals who reported being mixed-handed. CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed a modest association between mixed-handedness and subfecundity, which suggests that these traits may share a common etiology, perhaps tracing back to the prenatal period.
Authors: M Sallmén; M L Lindbohm; A Anttila; P Kyyrönen; H Taskinen; E Nykyri; K Hemminki Journal: Occup Environ Med Date: 1998-01 Impact factor: 4.402