Male procreative superiority index (MPSI): The missing coefficient in African anthropogenetics

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dc.contributor.authorKonotey-Ahulu, F.I.
dc.date.accessioned2025-11-19T17:25:24Z
dc.date.issued1980
dc.description.abstractThe adult man in Africa, unlike the average European man, can have a biological fitness exceeding that of his wife. Sociocultural factors allow, and indeed encourage, this state of affairs, which may have far-reaching genetic consequences. The male procreative superiority index (MPSI) of any man is easily worked out by dividing the total number of a man's children by the average number of children born to each wife. The country-wide mean MPSI for 3095 fathers contacted throughout Ghana was 2-03, indicating that the Ghanaian father on the average has twice as many children as the mother. The genetic consequences of this phenomenon are discussed, bringing out effects on such diverse genes as those for abnormal haemoglobins, twins, and extra digits. African anthropogenetics needs rethinking more on factual lines than on theoretical evolutionary concepts. � 1980, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved. � 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
dc.identifier.issn00071447
dc.identifier.issn09598146
dc.identifier.issn17561833
dc.identifier.other10.1136/bmj.281.6256.1700
dc.identifier.urihttps://achimotaschoolarchives.org/handle/123456789/372
dc.language.isoen
dc.sourceBMJ
dc.subjectethnic or racial aspects
dc.subjectgenetics
dc.subjectgeographic distribution
dc.subjectheredity
dc.subjectAnthropology, Cultural
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectFertility
dc.subjectFingers
dc.subjectGenetic Markers
dc.subjectGenetics, Population
dc.subjectGhana
dc.subjectHemoglobins, Abnormal
dc.subjectHuman
dc.subjectMale
dc.subjectPregnancy
dc.subjectSex Factors
dc.subjectSupport, Non-U.S. Gov't
dc.subjectTwins
dc.titleMale procreative superiority index (MPSI): The missing coefficient in African anthropogenetics
dc.typeArticle

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