Declining Sex Ratio in a First Nation Community

Members of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation community near Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, voiced concerns that there appeared to be fewer male children in their community in recent years. In response to these concerns, we assessed the sex ratio (proportion of male births) of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation over the period 1984–2003 as part of a community-based participatory research project. The trend in the proportion of male live births of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation has been declining continuously from the early 1990s to 2003, from an apparently stable sex ratio prior to this time. The proportion of male births (m) showed a statistically significant decline over the most recent 10-year period (1994–2003) (m = 0.412, p = 0.008) with the most pronounced decrease observed during the most recent 5 years (1999–2003) (m = 0.348, p = 0.006). Numerous factors have been associated with a decrease in the proportion of male births in a population, including a number of environmental and occupational chemical exposures. This community is located within the Great Lakes St. Clair River Area of Concern and is situated immediately adjacent to several large petrochemical, polymer, and chemical industrial plants. Although there are several potential factors that could be contributing to the observed decrease in sex ratio of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, the close proximity of this community to a large aggregation of industries and potential exposures to compounds that may influence sex ratios warrants further assessment into the types of chemical exposures for this population. A community health survey is currently under way to gather more information about the health of the Aamjiwnaang community and to provide additional information about the factors that could be contributing to the observed decrease in the proportion of male births in recent years

Surrounded by Chemical Valley and 'living in a bubble': the case of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Ontario

This study examines the perceptions and coping strategies of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, which is surrounded by 'Chemical Valley', the largest complex of petrochemical plants in Canada. Analysis of in-depth interviews showed that residents perceive 'Mother Earth to be sick'; however, a strong level of community cohesion prevails, with 'place' as a significant anchor to the culture and history of the community. Residents articulated a collective sense of responsibility for the well-being of members both within and surrounding the community, whereby some residents would never leave, regardless of the toxic environment and concern for high rates of cancer and respiratory diseases among both adults and children. Residents employed action-focused coping strategies such as 'indoor evacuation' and the 'Cop-sniff test', and emotional coping strategies including blocking out the effects of 'Chemical Valley' by frequently ignoring warning sirens from industry. The results call on the need for a collaborative environmental planning intervention involving clear community participation. Findings suggest the need for an indoor recreational facility for both children and adults, and a graded warning system.Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Chemical Valley, Mother Earth, environmental contamination, environmental stress, coping,

Proportion of live male births (male live births/total live births) for Aamjiwnaang First Nation 1984–2003

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Declining Sex Ratio in a First Nation Community"</p><p>Environmental Health Perspectives 2005;113(10):1295-1298.</p><p>Published online 17 Aug 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1281269.</p><p>This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original DOI.</p> The dotted line is the expected male proportion for Canada (0.512). The dashed line is the linear regression line for the period 1984–1992; = 0.000; slope not significantly different from zero ( = 0.990). The solid line is the linear regression line for the period 1993–2003; = 0.547; statistically significant deviation of slope from zero ( = 0.009)