Month of your birth can affect your long-term health, says study

The month of your birth can affect your long term health, a new study has suggested.

Spanish scientists mapped birth month to 27 chronic diseases to see if it made a difference and found it has a “significant impact” for certain conditions.

For example, men who were born in September were almost three times more likely to suffer thyroid problems compared to those born in January.

Men born in August had almost double the risk of asthma in comparison to those born at the beginning of the year.

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The study, carried out by the University of Alicante and involving 30,000 patients, found women born in July were 27 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure and were at 40 per cent increased risk of incontinence.

Those born in September appeared to have the least chance of being diagnosed with any chronic disease.

Researchers have indicated that levels of vitamin D from sunshine as well as seasonal illness could be behind the variance, by either boosting the body’s inner defences or harming them early on.

Professor Jose Antonio Quesada, one of the authors of the report said: “In this study we have evidenced a significant association between the month of birth and the occurrence of various chronic diseases and long-term health problems.

“The patterns reported differed clearly by sex, presenting associations of the month of birth with more diseases and with more magnitude in men than in women. “The month of birth may behave as an indicator of periods of early exposure to various factors, such as exposure to ultraviolet rays, vitamin D, temperature, seasonal exposure to viruses and allergies which may affect the development of the uterus and neonate in their first months of life.”

The study also found men born in June were 34 per cent less likely to suffer depression and 22 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with lower back pain. Women born in June had a 33 per cent lower risk of migraines.

The study was published in the journal Medicina Clinica.

What’s in a month for men?

• April - lowest risk of back pain
• May - more likely to suffer from depression
• June - 34 per cent less likely to suffer from depression and 22 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with lower back pain. However men born in June had a high risk of osteoarthritis.
• August - almost double the risk of asthma in comparison to those born at the beginning of the year
• September - three times more likely to suffer thyroid problems compared with those born in January. September appeared to have the least chance of being diagnosed with any chronic disease for both men and women.
• December - high risk of osteoarthritis & more likely to suffer from depression

What’s in a month for women?

• June - 33 per cent lower risk of migraine and 35 per cent less chance of experiencing menopause problems. However, incontinence and high cholesterol was highest in women born in June.
• September - appeared to have the least chance of being diagnosed with any chronic disease for both men and women.
• November - less likely to suffer from menopausal problems