Untangling the biologic and social causes of low fertility in modern societies
ERC (European Research Council)HORIZON-ERC-SYGID: 101071773
EC Contribution
€140,000
Consortium Size
3 orgs
Start Year
2023
▶Summary
High-income countries are experiencing both unprecedentedly low and increasingly polarized fertility with growing social gradients in childbearing. Key theories on fertility patterns are based on the empirical observation that until recently fertility remained comparatively high in gender-egalitarian countries with strong support for families. Since 2010 many of the countries that provided evidence for such theories have reached record-low fertility. This confronts the scientific paradigm of the key drivers of fertility.BIOSFER investigates how social, biological and psychological factors work together to produce the observed patterns, levels and variation in fertility among young adults, and to what extent the fertility decline and the related polarization can be attributed to social vs. biomedical factors. Our multi-theory approach leverages ideas from several disciplines and proposes that the existing theories must be complemented with concepts of risk aversion and information, intergenerational transmission of fecundity, epigenetics and beyond, in order to understand modern fertility behaviour. We develop theoretically informed, falsifiable hypotheses that we test against the two richest population-based longitudinal pregnancy and pubertal cohorts in the world, MoBa in Norway and the DNBC in Denmark.We offer a uniquely integrative life-course-based approach that is neither social or biomedical, but combines central ideas from both, and evaluates the biosocial determinants of the key transition points from fetal life through puberty and partnering into planned, unplanned, partnered and unpartnered childbearing. We study the social, biomedical and psychological forces, their interactions, and intergenerational forces as they operate throughout the life-course to produce the modern low-fertility landscape. The results will help to provide a novel, bio-social framework for understanding the life-course processes that drive contemporary fertility patterns.
Consortium (3)
MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
coordinator AARHUS UNIVERSITET
partner🇳🇴 FOLKEHELSEINSTITUTTETNO
partnerProject Results (60)
Source: CORDIS, the EU research results database.
▶Publications (59)
Association between the COVID-19 vaccination campaign and fertility trends: a population-level time series analysis for 22 countries
Aiva Jasilioniene, Domantas Jasilionis, Dmitri Jdanov, Mikko Myrskylä
Atopic dermatitis in childhood and pubertal development: A nationwide cohort study
Camilla Lomholt Kjersgaard; Andreas Ernst; Pernille Jul Clemmensen; Lea Lykke Harrits Lunddorf; Linn Håkonsen Arendt; Nis Brix; Onyebuchi A. Arah; Mette Deleuran; Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen
Environmental exposures and fecundability: The Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort study
Thea Grindstad, Siri E. Håberg, Olga Basso, Hans Ivar Hanevik, Ida H. Caspersen, Lise A. Arge, Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen, Mikko Myrskyla, Maria C. Magnus
Gender and educational trends in lifetime risk, age at onset, expectancy, and survival with cardiovascular disease in Finland, 1996-2020
Shubhankar Sharma, Pekka Martikainen, Mikko Myrskyla, Lasse Tarkiainen, Ulla Suulamo
Industry-specific Labour Demand, Post-prison Employment and Recidivism – Evidence from Finland
Riku Laine, Mikko Aaltonen, Pekka Martikainen, Mikko Myrskylä
Limiting access to assisted reproductive technologies for males of advanced age—Pros and cons from a Nordic perspective
Hans Ivar Hanevik, Christina Bergh, Hannele Laivuori, Anne Lærke Spangmose, Åsa Magnusson, Anja Pinborg, Terhi Piltonen
Maternal Morbidity and Medically Assisted Reproduction Treatment Types
Alina Pelikh, Ken R. Smith, Mikko Myrskylä, Michelle P. Debbink, Alice Goisis
More twins expected in low-income countries with later maternal ages at birth and population growth
D Susie Lee, Kieron J Barclay
Parental Separation and Children’s Education—Changes Over Time?
Sanna Kailaheimo-Lönnqvist, Marika Jalovaara, Mikko Myrskylä
Personality and fertility dynamics in Norway across four decades – Findings from the HUNT survey
Vegard Skirbekk, Morten Blekesaune, Hans Fredrik Sunde
Selective re-partnering? Mental health and life satisfaction among separated single mothers in Germany and the UK
Philipp Dierker, Mine Kühn, Mikko Myrskylä
Stillbirth rate trends across 25 European countries between 2010 and 2021: the contribution of maternal age and multiplicity
Maxi S Kniffka, Jonas Schöley, Susie Lee, Loes C M Bertens, Jasper V Been, Jóhanna Gunnarsdóttir, null null, Alex Farr, Jeannette Klimont, Sophie Alexander, Wei-Hong Zhang, Gisèle Vandervelpen, Rumyana Kolarova, Evelin Yordanova, Željka Draušnik, Theopisti Kyprianou, Vasos Scoutellas, Petr Velebil, Laust Hvas Mortensen, Luule Sakkeus, Liili Abuladze, Mika Gissler, Anna Heino, Béatrice Blondel, Catherine Deneux-Tharaux, Mélanie Durox, Alice Hocquette, Marianne Philibert, Jennifer Zeitlin, Jeanne Fresson, Guenther Heller, Bjoern Misselwitz, Aris Antsaklis, István Sziller, Johanna Gunnarsdottir, Helga Sól Ólafsdóttir, Karen Kearns, Izabela Sikora, Marina Cuttini, Marzia Loghi, Serena Donati, Rosalia Boldrini, Janis Misins, Irisa Zile, Jelena Isakova, Aline Lecomte, Audrey Billy, Jessica Pastore, Daniel Alvarez, Miriam Gatt, Jan Nijhuis, Lisa Broeders, Peter Achterberg, Ashna Hindori-Mohangoo, Kari Klungsoyr, Rupali Akerkar, Hilde Engjom, Katarzyna Szamotulska, Ewa Mierzejewska, Henrique Barros, Mihai Horga, Vlad Tica, Mihaela-Alexandra Budianu, Alexandra Cucu, Cristian Calomfirescu, Jan Cap, Miha Lučovnik, Ivan Verdenik, Oscar Zurriaga, Adela Recio Alcaide, María Fernández Elorriaga, Mireia Jané, Maria José Vidal, Karin Källén, Anastasia Nyman, Tonia Rihs, Alison Macfarlane, Sonya Scott, Kirsten Monteath, Lucy Smith, Ruth Matthews, Siobhán Morgan, Joanne Murphy
Unequal weathering: How immigrants’ health advantage vanishes over the life-course
Silvia Loi, Peng Li, Mikko Myrskylä
Use of assisted reproductive technologies for male and female infertility and perinatal outcomes
Maria C. Magnus, Karoline H. Skåra, Ellen Ø. Carlsen, Miriam Gjerdevik, Cecilia H. Ramlau-Hansen, Mikko Myrskylä, Liv-Bente Romundstad, Siri E. Håberg
Women’s physical health around live births and pregnancy losses: a longitudinal study
Alessandro Di Nallo
Worldwide patterns and trends in ovarian cancer incidence by histological subtype: a population-based analysis from 1988 to 2017
Yi-Fan Wei, Li Ning, Yi-Lin Xu, Jing Ma, Dong-Run Li, Zan-Fei Feng, Fang-Hua Liu, Yi-Zi Li, He-Li Xu, Peng Li, Yong-Pei Yu, Dong-Hui Huang, Xiao-Ying Li, Song Gao, Chun-Qing Lin, Ting-Ting Gong, Qi-Jun Wu, Jing-He Lang
At the Intersection of Adverse Life Course Pathways: The Effects on Health by Migration Status
Loi, S.; Li, P.; & Myrskylä, M.
Compensation or accentuation? How parents from different social backgrounds decide to support their children
Dierker, P., & Diewald, M.
Early or late menarche is associated with reduced fecundability in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study
Warp, M. L.; Grindstad, T.; Magnus, M. C.; Page, C. M.; Håberg, S. E.; Morken, N. H.; Romundstad, L. B. & Hanevik, H. I.
Educational Differences in Fertility Among Female Same-Sex Couples in Finland
Maria Ponkilainen, Elina Einiö, Marjut Pietiläinen, Mikko Myrskylä
Educational field, economic uncertainty, and fertility decline in Finland in 2010–2019
Hellstrand, J.; Nisén, J.; & Myrskylä, M.
Epigenetic aging and fecundability: the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study
Lise Andrea Arge, Yunsung Lee, Karoline Hansen Skåra, Mikko Myrskylä, Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen, Siri Eldevik Håberg, Maria Christine Magnus
Evaluating causal associations of chronotype with pregnancy and perinatal outcomes and its interactions with insomnia and sleep duration: a mendelian randomization study
Qian Yang, Maria C. Magnus, Fanny Kilpi, Gillian Santorelli, Ana Goncalves Soares, Jane West, Per Magnus, Siri E. Håberg, Kate Tilling, Deborah A Lawlor, M Carolina Borges, Eleanor Sanderson
Gendered Parenthood-Employment Gaps from Midlife: A Demographic Perspective Across Three Different Welfare Systems
Lorenti, A.; Nisén, N.; Mencarini, L., & Myrskylä, M.
Genetic propensity to depression and the role of partnership status
Gueltzow, M.; Lahtinen, H.; Bijlsma, M. J.; Myrskylä, M. & Martikainen, P.
Maternal coffee consumption and biomarkers of reproductive health in young, adult sons: a cohort study
Mette Jørgensen Langergaard, Andreas Ernst, Bodil Hammer Bech, Sandra Søgaard Tøttenborg, Nis Brix, Gunnar Toft, Anne Gaml-Sørensen, Karin Sørig Hougaard, Linn Håkonsen Arendt, Jens Peter Ellekilde Bonde, Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen
Maternal intake of paracetamol during pregnancy and biomarkers of male fecundity in young adult sons
Laursen, T. Q.; Ramlau-Hansen, C. H.; Liew, Z.; Tøttenborg, S. S.; Toft, G.; Hougaard, K. S.; Bonde, J. P. & Ernst, A.
Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and reproductive health in adult sons: a study in the Danish National Birth Cohort
Gaml-Sørensen, A.; Thomsen, A. H.; Tøttenborg, S. S.; Brix, N.; Hougaard, K.S.; Toft, G.; Håberg, S. E.; Myrskylä, M.; Bonde, J. P. & Ramlau-Hansen, C. H.
Maternal stress in pregnancy and pubertal timing in girls and boys: a cohort study
Gaml-Sørensen, A.; Brix, N.; Henriksen, T. B. & Ramlau-Hansen, C. H.
Maternal use of nitrosatable drugs during pregnancy and adult male reproductive health: A population-based cohort study
Clemmensen, P. J.; Brix, N.; Schullehner, J.; Toft, G.; Tøttenborg, S. S.; Hougaard, K.S.; Bjerregaard, A. A.; Halldorsson, T. I.; Olsen, S. F.; Hansen, B.; Stayner, L.T.; Sigsgaard, T.; Kolstad, H.; Bonde, J. P. E. & Ramlau-Hansen, C. H.
Non-random mating patterns within and across education and mental and somatic health
Fartein Ask Torvik, Hans Fredrik Sunde, Rosa Cheesman, Nikolai Haahjem Eftedal, Matthew C. Keller, Eivind Ystrom, Espen Moen Eilertsen
Own depression, partner's depression, and childlessness: A nationwide register-based study
Sanna Kailaheimo-Lönnqvist, Heta Moustgaard, Pekka Martikainen, Mikko Myrskylä
Parental epigenetic age acceleration and risk of adverse birth outcomes: the Norwegian mother, father and child cohort study
Maria C. Magnus, Yunsung Lee, Ellen Ø. Carlsen, Lise A. Arge, Astanand Jugessur, Liv G. Kvalvik, Nils-Halvdan Morken, Cecilia H. Ramlau-Hansen, Mikko Myrskylä, Per Magnus, Siri E. Håberg
Placental efflux transporters and antiseizure or antidepressant medication use impact birth weight in MoBa cohort
Marta H. Hernandez; Jacqueline M. Cohen; Karoline H. Skåra; Thea K. Grindstad; Yunsung Lee; Per Magnus; Pål R. Njølstad; Ole A. Andreassen; Elizabeth C. Corfield; Alexandra Havdahl; Espen Molden; Kari Furu; Maria C. Magnus; Alvaro Hernaez
Projection of US adult obesity trends based on individual BMI trajectories
Todd, N., & Myrskylä, M.
Re-partnering and single mothers' mental health and life satisfaction trajectories
Dierker, P.; Kühn, M. & Myrskylä, M.
Response to Carl Schmertmann Commentary—Drawing Cohort Profiles From Period Data: Improvements and Risks
Alyson A. van Raalte, Ugofilippo Basellini, Carlo Giovanni Camarda, Marília Nepomuceno, Mikko Myrskylä
Revisiting the J-Shape: Human Development and Fertility in the United States
Schubert, H.; Dudel, Ch.; Kolobova, M.; Myrskylä, M.
Sibling relatedness and pubertal development in girls and boys: A population-based cohort study
Katrine Andersen, Kathrine Wiell Rothausen, Siri Eldevik Håberg, Mikko Myrskylä, Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen, Anne Gaml-Sørensen
Sociohistorical context and post-prison life course
Riku Laine, Mikko Aaltonen, Mikko Myrskylä, Pekka Martikainen
Telomere length in relation to fecundability and use of assisted reproductive technologies: the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study
Karoline H. Skåra, Yunsung Lee, Astanand Jugessur, Håkon K. Gjessing, Abraham Aviv, Ben Brumpton, Øyvind Næss, Álvaro Hernáez, Hans Ivar Hanevik, Per Magnus, Maria C. Magnus
Trends in memory function and memory impairment among older adults in the USA and Europe, 1996-2018
Myrskylä, M.; Hale, J. M.; Schneider D. C. & Mehta, N. K.
Urban–Rural Disparities in the Transition to Parenthood During Times of Uncertainty: A Multilevel Perspective on Finland
Nicholas Campisi, Hill Kulu, Júlia Mikolai, Sebastian Klüsener, Mikko Myrskylä
Birth size, school performance and family social position: a study of 650,000 children
Silventoinen, K.; Luukkonen, J.; Myrskylä, M. & Martikainen, P.
Does parental separation moderate the heritability of health risk behavior among adolescents?
Dierker, P.; Kühn, M. & Mönkediek, B.
Healthy immigrants, unhealthy ageing? Analysis of health decline among older migrants and natives across European countries
Jang S. Y.; Oksuzyan, A.; Myrskylä, M.; van Lenthe, F. J. & Loi, S.
Impaired glucose tolerance and cardiovascular risk factors in relation to infertility: a Mendelian randomization analysis in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study
Hernáez, Á.; Lee, Y.; Page, C. M.; Skåra, K. H.; Håberg, S. E.; Magnus, P.; Njølstad, P. R.; Andreassen, O. A.; Corfield, E. C.; Havdahl, A.; Fraser, A.; Burgess, S.; Lawlor, D. A. & Magnus, M. C.
Maternal alcohol intake in early pregnancy and biomarkers of fecundity in adult sons: A cohort study
Thomsen, A. H.; Gaml-Sørensen, Anne; Brix, N.; Tøttenborg, S. S.; Hougaard, K. S.; Ernst, A.; Arendt, L. H.; Toft, G.; Bonde, J. P. Ramlau-Hansen, C. H.
Maternal Intake of Vitamin D Supplements during Pregnancy and Pubertal Timing in Children: A Population-Based Follow-Up Study.
Gaml-Sørensen, A.; Brix, N.; Lunddorf, L. L. H.; Ernst, A.; Høyer, B. B.; Toft, G.; Henriksen, T. B. & Ramlau-Hansen, C. H.
Parental age at birth and biomarkers of fecundity in young Danish men
Ernst, A.; Brix, N.; Gaml-Sørensen, A.; Arendt, L. H.; Toft, G.; Tøttenborg, S. S., Hougaard, K. S.; Bonde, J. P. E. & Ramlau-Hansen, C. H.
Prenatal Exposure to Nitrate in Drinking Water and Adverse Health Outcomes in the Offspring: a Review of Current Epidemiological Research
Clemmensen, P. J.; Schullehner, J.; Brix, N.; Kolstad, H. A. & Ramlau-Hansen, C. H.
Prenatal exposure to nitrosatable drugs and timing of puberty in sons and daughters: A nationwide cohort study.
Clemmensen, P. J.; Brix, N.; Schullehner, J.; Ernst, A.; Lunddorf, L. L. H.; Bjerregaard, A. A.; Halldorsson, T. I.; Olsen, S. F.; Hansen, B.; Stayner, L. T.; Kolstad, H.A.; Sigsgaard, T. & Ramlau-Hansen, C. H.
Racial, Ethnic, Nativity, and Educational Disparities in Cognitive Impairment and Activity Limitations in the United States, 1998–2016
Sharma, S.; Hale, J. M.; Myrskylä, M. & Kulu, H.
Socio-behavioral factors contributing to recent mortality trends in the United States
Preston, S. H.; Vierboom, Y. C. & Myrskylä, M.
Statistical methods to detect mother–father genetic interaction effects on risk of infertility: A genome-wide approach
Skodvin, S. N.; Gjessing, H. K.; Jugessur, A.; Romanowska, J.; Page, C. M.; Corfield, E. C.; Lee, Y.; Håberg, S. E. & Gjerdevik; M.
The “double jeopardy” of midlife and old age mortality trends in the United States
Abrams, L. R.; Myrskylä, M., & Mehta, N. K.
The Dangers of Drawing Cohort Profiles From Period Data: A Research Note
van Raalte, A. A.; Basellini, U.; Camarda, C. G.; Nepomuceno, M. R. & Myrskylä, M.
The role of labor market inequalities in explaining the gender gap in depression risk among older US adults
Maria Gueltzow, Maarten J. Bijlsma, Frank J. van Lenthe, Mikko Myrskylä
Timing of puberty in relation to semen characteristics, testicular volume, and reproductive hormones: a cohort study
Brix, N.; Gaml-Sørensen ,A.; Ernst, A.; Arendt, L. H.; Lunddorf, L. L. H.; Toft, G.; Tøttenborg, S. S.; Hærvig, K. K.; Høyer, B. B.; Hougaard, K. S.; Bonde, J. P. E. & Ramlau-Hansen, C. H.
▶Other Results (1)
Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BIOSFER (Untangling the biologic and social causes of low fertility in modern societies)