Amanpreet Brar1, Susitha Wanigaratne2, Ariel Pulver3, Joel G Ray2, Marcelo L Urquia4. 1. Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON. 2. Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Toronto, ON. 3. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON. 4. Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Toronto, ON; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON; Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB. Electronic address: marcelo_urquia@cpe.umanitoba.ca.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To examine whether son-biased male to female (M:F) ratios at birth among linguistically different subgroups of Indian immigrants vary according to duration of residence in Canada. METHODS: We analyzed a retrospective cohort of 46 834 live births to Indian-born mothers who gave birth in Canada between 1993 and 2014. The M:F ratio at birth was calculated according to the sex of previous live births and stratified by (1) time since immigration to Canada (<10 and ≥10 years) and (2) mother tongue (Punjabi, Gujarati, Hindi, and other). We estimated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) using multivariate logistic regression to assess the probability of having a male newborn with 5-year increases in duration of residence in Canada for each language group. ORs were adjusted for married status, knowledge of English/French, maternal education at arrival and age and neighbourhood income at delivery. RESULTS: Among all Indian immigrant women with two previous daughters, M:F ratios were higher than expected (1.92, 95% CI 1.73-2.12), particularly among those whose mother tongue was Punjabi (n = 25 287) (2.40, 95% CI 2.11-2.72) and Hindi (n = 7752) (1.63, 95% CI 1.05-2.52). M:F ratios did not diminish with longer duration in Canada (Punjabi 5-year aOR 1.03, 95% CI 0.81-1.31; Hindi 5-year aOR 0.94, 95% CI 0.42-2.17). CONCLUSION: Among the Punjabi and Hindi women with two previous daughters, longer duration of residence did not attenuate son-biased M:F ratios at the third birth. Gender equity promotion may focus on Punjabi- and Hindi-speaking Indian immigrant women regardless of how long they have lived in Canada.
OBJECTIVES: To examine whether son-biased male to female (M:F) ratios at birth among linguistically different subgroups of Indian immigrants vary according to duration of residence in Canada. METHODS: We analyzed a retrospective cohort of 46 834 live births to Indian-born mothers who gave birth in Canada between 1993 and 2014. The M:F ratio at birth was calculated according to the sex of previous live births and stratified by (1) time since immigration to Canada (<10 and ≥10 years) and (2) mother tongue (Punjabi, Gujarati, Hindi, and other). We estimated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) using multivariate logistic regression to assess the probability of having a male newborn with 5-year increases in duration of residence in Canada for each language group. ORs were adjusted for married status, knowledge of English/French, maternal education at arrival and age and neighbourhood income at delivery. RESULTS: Among all Indian immigrant women with two previous daughters, M:F ratios were higher than expected (1.92, 95% CI 1.73-2.12), particularly among those whose mother tongue was Punjabi (n = 25 287) (2.40, 95% CI 2.11-2.72) and Hindi (n = 7752) (1.63, 95% CI 1.05-2.52). M:F ratios did not diminish with longer duration in Canada (Punjabi 5-year aOR 1.03, 95% CI 0.81-1.31; Hindi 5-year aOR 0.94, 95% CI 0.42-2.17). CONCLUSION: Among the Punjabi and Hindi women with two previous daughters, longer duration of residence did not attenuate son-biased M:F ratios at the third birth. Gender equity promotion may focus on Punjabi- and Hindi-speaking Indian immigrant women regardless of how long they have lived in Canada.
Authors: Michael Lebenbaum; Therese A Stukel; Natasha Ruth Saunders; Hong Lu; Marcelo Urquia; Paul Kurdyak; Astrid Guttmann Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2021-04-16 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Hilary Bowman-Smart; Julian Savulescu; Christopher Gyngell; Cara Mand; Martin B Delatycki Journal: Prenat Diagn Date: 2019-10-10 Impact factor: 3.050