HAMBURG, Germany, May 25 (UPI) -- Scientists in Germany found that women who live in areas with high levels of pollution are more likely to have twins.
The BBC reported Tuesday that the University of Hamburg team compared twin birthrates among mothers living near an incinerator in Hesse, Germany, with mothers living in two other regions of Germany.
The researchers found that in areas where people lived close to the incinerator or other heavy industries, the twin birthrate was about twice as high as other areas.
The study, published the Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal suggests further study to determine the reason for the increased twins.
Nick Fisk, Queen Charlottes' Hospital, in London said it's possible something in the toxics suppresses estrogen levels in women resulting in higher gonadotrophin levels -- hormones that kick start the egg forming.
"If you have higher gonadotrophin levels you are more likely to make more eggs that could become fertilized at the same time, resulting in non-identical twins," he said. "There is a plausible mechanism, but that would only apply to non-identical twins."
