Sex proportion of offspring and exposure to radiation in male invasive cardiologists

Abstract

High radiation exposure among male radiologists has been reported to result in a significantly higher proportion of female offspring. This study examined whether work-related radiation exposure was associated with a higher propensity for female offspring among male interventional cardiologists. On behalf of the interventional committee of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, an Internet-based questionnaire was sent to the society's 2063 members. The 402 male respondents had a total of 518 biological offspring; 48.6% of them were female. Among the 172 high-volume male diagnostic operators (those who performed >300 cases annually), there were 218 biological offspring, of whom 46.8% were female. Among the 59 high-volume male interventional operators, there were 70 biological offspring, of whom 45.7% were female. P values were nonsignificant for all three groups. In conclusion, work-related radiation exposure of male invasive and interventional cardiologists was not associated with a statistically significant preponderance of female offspring.

Figure

Percentage of male and female offspring among respondents.