It almost sounds unbelievable, but studies have showed that your risk of developing chronic diseases varies, based on your month of birth. This means that you, as a man, is at a higher risk of constipation, while you, as a woman, has an increased risk of heath attacks, if you are born in January.
The correlation was proved by Spanish researchers at Alicante’s university, who performed a public health study, in which they compared month of birth with the frequency of 27 different chronic diseases. The study included almost 30.000 individuals. The results showed a correlation between the different diseases and month of birth.
Furthermore, it is different for men and women, which disease they are more likely to develop. One of the most interesting results to come out of the study was that children born in September, had the lowest risk of being diagnosed with any of the 27 chronic diseases.
Many of the correlations were not significant, but some clearly were:
- Men born June were 34 % less likely to develop a depression
- Men born in August were at almost double the risk, compared to the average, of developing asthma
- Women born in July were 27 % more likely to be diagnosed with heightened blood pressure
- Women born in June had 1/3 the risk of developing migraine
What is the explanation?
One explanation for the correlation, between your month of birth and the diseases you may develop, is the amount of sunlight. The quantity of vitamin D in your body is affected by the amount of sunlight you receive. Therefore, will you have more vitamin D in your body during your first month of life, if you are born during the summer. According to the study, this quantity of vitamin D should have an influence on the diseases you are most susceptible to later in life.
Other explanations have also been proposed. For example, some scientists believe that you are more likely to develop asthma if you are born in summer-autumn, since there more dust mites in these months. Unfortunately, it is difficult to prove the cause of the correlation, thus are the explanations merely hypotheses right not.
Is this the first study?
Prior studies have examined the same theory. Aside from the Spanish study, a largescale American study from 2015 showed the same correlation. The American study analysed dates from 1,7 million patients, whom were treated at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital from 1985 to 2013.
The American study tested 1688 different diseases, but only 55 of them were affected by the patient’s month of birth. Therefore, the majority of diseases are not dependant on the month of birth.
Prior studies have also showed a correlation between your month of birth, your personality, and life expectancy. Therefore, we have known for a while that month of birth is not insignificant.
