New Research Finds Link Between Birth Month and Risk of Disease

Your birth month could affect more than your astrological sign and the colour of your birthstone.

A new study from the Columbia University Medical Centre has found a link between birth month and risk for disease. Apparently, there are at least 55 diseases that are considerably dependent on birth month.

Scientists reviewed New York medical databases for 1.7 million patients to draw such conclusions.

So, what are the high-risk birth months? Not to turn you into a complete hypochondriac, but if you’re born in October or November, you have the highest risk of disease overall. On the other hand, if you were born in May, you have the lowest.

If you were born in March, you have the highest risk of heart disease. Those born in September and October have a higher risk of respiratory disease, while winter babies have a higher risk of reproductive and neurological diseases.

“This data could help scientists uncover new disease risk factors,” Nicholas Tatonetti, the lead author on the study and professor at CUMC, said in the statement.

Before you go running to your doctor or start Googling symptoms, however, keep in mind that researchers warn that the study should be taken with a grain of salt. Obviously, people’s health isn’t completely determined by the month that they were born. Therefore, the researchers warn that birth month shouldn’t be something to worry about when it comes to our health or that of our future children.

They say that the risk related to one’s birth month is “relatively minor” when compared to factors like diet and exercise, and plan to duplicate their findings on a wider study group that incorporates databases from other areas of the US and abroad.

Still, if you’re a worrier, you may want to aim for a May arrival time when it comes to your future child.