How the month of your birth can affect which diseases will afflict you

Seasonal changes in ultraviolet rays, vitamin D levels and viruses may affect foetal development

HOROSCOPES have long been ridiculed by science, but a study now suggests the month of your birth can affect long-term health.

Spanish scientists mapped birth months to 27 chronic diseases to see if it made a difference and were surprised to find it has a significant impact for some conditions.

Men who were born in September, for example, were almost three times more likely to suffer thyroid problems than those born in January. August male babies had almost double the risk of asthma in comparison to those born at the beginning of the year.

Similarly, women born in July were 27 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure and were at a 40 per cent increased risk of incontinence.

The study, by the University of Alicante, also found that some months had a significant beneficial effect for health. 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 and a 35 per cent less chance of experiencing menopause problems.

Overall, babies born in September appeared to have the least chance of being diagnosed with any chronic disease. Men and women were both 33 per cent less likely to have any condition.

The researchers speculate 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.

Prof Jose Antonio Quesada, the study’s lead author, said: “In this study we have evidenced a significant asso- ciation between the month of birth and the occurrence of various chronic diseases and long-term health problems.

“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.”

He added: “The differentiation of patterns by sex found that there may be a different vulnerability in men and women to these early exposure factors.”

Research by the Office for National Statistics also found birth month affects career, intelligence and length of life. A child born December is more likely to become a dentist, if in January will tend to a debt collector, a February birth appears to increase the chances of being an artist, while March babies are more likely to become pilots.

The research was published in the journal Medicina Clinica.