What Your Birth Month Says About Your Chance Of Serious Health Risk
Hopefully you weren't born toward the end of the year.
getty Many people put a lot of stock into their zodiac sign, especially to see what their chances look like in love and wealth. But perhaps horoscopes should focus less on these things and more on people's health.
While we attribute our health to genetics as well as environmental factors, it turns out that the month in which you were born says quite a lot about the types of health issues you may face in life.
What does your birth month say about your health?
A study published in the Journal of American Medical Informatics Association broke down the health of people according to their birth month, and how birth month "has a significant impact on the diseases [you] develop during [your] lifetime."
Scientists looked at over 1.7 million medical records from 1985 and 2013. They confirmed 39 connections between birth months and health risks, along with 16 new associations between the two.
The ties between birth month and disease include the kind of environment a person lives in, including weather, as well as the environment a pregnant woman is in during her pregnancy, which clearly affects her immune system.
Researchers determined that "55 diseases that were significantly dependent on birth month."
Findings concluded that people who are born between January and March have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, while people born between October and December have a higher risk of neurological, respiratory, and reproductive issues.
Cosmopolitan took the findings and created a graphic to help us better understand the specific diseases and illnesses that afflict each birth month:
Fortunately for May, July and December babies, they are pretty much getting off easy compared to other months. May and July come with no health issues, while December babies only have to worry about bruising.
However, for those born in September, October or November, health concerns include psychosocial disorders, colon issues, postpartum depression, complications during pregnancy and childbirth, dependency on pain killers, viral infections, and more.
While this may come as a shock to some, this isn't the first study to find a connection between birth month and health.
A previous study found that babies who are conceived in May are more likely to have complications or be born prematurely, as these babies are usually born during the height of flu season.
These studies are important because they show us the risk of not only ourselves, but our babies potentially developing health-related issues in the future. It's an important thing to keep in mind, especially if you plan to conceive or are expecting a child in which major health issues are a concern.
No matter what month you are born in, it only makes sense that we stay on top of our health, above all else. After all, we are the most important thing in our lives.
Nicole Weaver is a senior writer for Showbiz Cheat Sheet whose work has been featured in New York Magazine, Teen Vogue, and more.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in June 2015 and was updated with the latest information.