According to a study published in the journal of lPLOS Computational Biology, air pollution can affect the gender of newborns born in a certain region.

The findings showed that locations with high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in the air and water had more babies born male than places with lower levels of these pollutants, according to a review of more than 6 million births in the United States and Sweden.

PCBs were originally utilized as coolants in electrical appliances before studies proved their negative effects on human health, yet studies suggest they are still common in the environment.

Similarly, areas with high amounts of aluminum in the air, often those where the metal was processed, as well as areas with greater chromium, arsenic, and mercury water contamination, had higher birth rates for boys than girls.

Read more: Study: HPV vaccine lower the risk of cancers in teens and young women

High amounts of lead and iron in the soil, which can be found in many regions with a history of heavy industry, on the other hand, had the reverse impact, generating an increase in female births.

Meanwhile, climate trends had no impact on birth rates for either gender, according to the researchers.

In terms of research co-author Andrey Rzhetsky, a professor of medicine and human genetics at the University of Chicago, the findings could motivate politicians to “take initiatives toward lowering the environmental pollution.”

According to Rzhetsky and colleagues, hormonal variables that particularly destroy female or male embryos during pregnancy can influence the ratio at birth on a biological basis.

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