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Alternate Changes in Birth Seasonality of Twins During 1971–1984 in Japan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

I. Nakamura ,
Y. Amau ,
K. Nonaka  and
T. Miura
I. Nakamura*
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo
Y. Amau
Affiliation:
The Japanese Association of Twins' Mothers, Tokyo, Japan
K. Nonaka
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo
T. Miura
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo
*
Department of Hygiene, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173, Japan

Abstract

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Birth dates of 1,536 twin-pairs in 1971-1984 were collected from the members of an association of twins' mothers. The seasonal variation of twinning changed every 2-4 years. Years when twinning rate was higher in the summer-fall season (1971-72, 1976-77, 1982-84) and those when a peak of the rate was not observed (1973-75, 1978-81) appeared alternately. In years with a summer-fall peak, the elevation of twinning in the summer-fall season was detected consistently in both like- and unlike-sexed and in both MZ and DZ twin groups. The twinning seasonality in these years, however, was not evident in twin births of mothers who were born in May-July. These results suggest the possibility that seasonal factors which influence the twinning rate be not multiple-ovulation-inducing but probably abortion-inducing factors and most likely seasonally epidemic microbes.

Keywords

Twinning rateSeasonalityEpidemic factors
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae: twin research , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , July 1987 , pp. 373 - 380
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1987

References

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