An eleven-year cycle in human births

The prominent endogenous cycle of the sun, with a period of approximately 11 years, is correlated with human conceptions. Time series methods (periodograms and periodic regression analyses) established that an approximate 11-year period exists in the data on births in the 20th century (1909–1985) in the United States and in New Zealand. Statistical comparisons indicated a reliable and direct relationship of conceptions with the approximately 11-year sunspot cycle. These findings were discussed in terms of the possible mediating role of geomagnetic disturbances and other factors that have been suggested in the literature to mediate human conception.