Influence of seasonal birth in humans explained

Seasonal variation in human birth rate has been found to be a nearly universal phenomenon.[1] Also, birth seasonality has been found to be correlated with certain physiological and psychological traits of humans and animals[2] [3] and type I diabetes.[4] Evidence for seasonality in humans is limited.[5]

Findings

Influence on medical conditions

The season in which babies are born can have an effect on their future risk of developing neurological disorders like seasonal affective disorder, bipolar depression, and schizophrenia;[6] [3] as well as type I diabetes.[7] Research has shown that the season of a baby’s birth can have an effect on whether or not they will become a heavy smoker. Although the aspects of this effect differ by sex, the effect exists across both of them.[8]

Large-scale population analytic studies

Recently, large-scale population analytics have allowed for the exploration of birth month/season hypotheses among large cohorts of people. One study used 1.7 million patients from Columbia University in New York City (NYC) to confirm associations between neurological conditions, respiratory condition and reproductive conditions with birth month.[9] In addition, they uncovered an association between cardiovascular diseases and birth month.[9] This was subsequently confirmed in a separate study, also using data from NYC.[10] Researchers also explored mechanisms correlated with birth season in a large population study including data from 10.5 million patients, from three countries (US, South Korea, and Taiwan) and six study sites.[11] They found correlations between relative age and school cutoff periods. And that first trimester exposure to fine air particulates increased the risk of atrial fibrillation later in life.[11]

As a factor in academic development

There is evidence that suggests that children born earlier in an academic year gain an advantage over their later-born classmates:

"In Britain the academic year begins in September, and there may be almost a year's chronological age difference between the eldest (September birthday) and youngest (August birthday) children in the same class. There is evidence that, in this context, children born in the autumn term (September to December birthdays) perform better academically, relative to their class peers, than those born in the spring term (January to April birthdays), who in turn outperform those born in the summer term (May to August birthdays)."[12]

As a suicide risk factor

See also: Seasonal effects on suicide rates. Birth rates of people who later die by suicide show disproportionate excess for April, May and June compared with the other months. Overall, the risk of suicide increases by 17% for people born in the spring–early summer compared with those born in the autumn–early winter; this risk increase was larger for women (29.6%) than for men (13.7%).[13]

Research works in Sweden show that those who preferred suicide by hanging rather than poisoning or petrol gases were significantly more likely to be born during February–April. Maximum of the month-of-birth curve for preferring hanging was for March–April and the minimum was for September–October.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Human Birth Seasonality .
  2. Disanto G, Morahan JM, Lacey MV, DeLuca GC, Giovannoni G, Ebers GC, Ramagopalan SV . Seasonal distribution of psychiatric births in England . PLOS ONE . 7 . 4 . e34866 . 2012-04-04 . 22496872 . 3319623 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0034866 . 2012PLoSO...734866D . free .
  3. Web site: Choi CQ . 2012-05-11. Being Born in Winter Can Mess With Your Head. 2021-11-16. livescience.com. en.
  4. Watson PE, McDonald BW . Seasonal variation of nutrient intake in pregnancy: effects on infant measures and possible influence on diseases related to season of birth . European Journal of Clinical Nutrition . 61 . 11 . 1271–80 . November 2007 . 17299488 . 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602644 . 25462412 .
  5. Meyer C, Muto V, Jaspar M, Kussé C, Lambot E, Chellappa SL, Degueldre C, Balteau E, Luxen A, Middleton B, Archer SN, Collette F, Dijk DJ, Phillips C, Maquet P, Vandewalle G . Seasonality in human cognitive brain responses . Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . 113 . 11 . 3066–71 . March 2016 . 26858432 . 4801294 . 10.1073/pnas.1518129113 .
  6. Disanto G, Morahan JM, Lacey MV, DeLuca GC, Giovannoni G, Ebers GC, Ramagopalan SV . Seasonal distribution of psychiatric births in England . PLOS ONE . 7 . 4 . e34866 . 2012-04-04 . 22496872 . 3319623 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0034866 . 2012PLoSO...734866D . free .
  7. Watson PE, McDonald BW . Seasonal variation of nutrient intake in pregnancy: effects on infant measures and possible influence on diseases related to season of birth . European Journal of Clinical Nutrition . 61 . 11 . 1271–80 . November 2007 . 17299488 . 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602644 . 25462412 .
  8. Riala K, Hakko H, Taanila A, Räsänen P . Season of birth and smoking: findings from the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort . Chronobiology International . 26 . 8 . 1660–72 . December 2009 . 20030548 . 10.3109/07420520903534484 . 2486064 .
  9. Boland MR, Shahn Z, Madigan D, Hripcsak G, Tatonetti NP . Birth month affects lifetime disease risk: a phenome-wide method . Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association . 22 . 5 . 1042–53 . September 2015 . 26041386 . 4986668 . 10.1093/jamia/ocv046 .
  10. Li L, Boland MR, Miotto R, Tatonetti NP, Dudley JT . Replicating Cardiovascular Condition-Birth Month Associations . Scientific Reports . 6 . 33166 . September 2016 . 27624541 . 5021975 . 10.1038/srep33166 . 2016NatSR...633166L .
  11. Boland MR, Parhi P, Li L, Miotto R, Carroll R, Iqbal U, Nguyen PA, Schuemie M, You SC, Smith D, Mooney S, Ryan P, Li YJ, Park RW, Denny J, Dudley JT, Hripcsak G, Gentine P, Tatonetti NP . 6 . Uncovering exposures responsible for birth season - disease effects: a global study . Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association . 25 . 3 . 275–288 . March 2018 . 29036387 . 7282503 . 10.1093/jamia/ocx105 . free .
  12. Russell RJ, Startup MJ . Month of birth and academic achievement . Personality and Individual Differences . January 1986 . 7 . 6 . 839–46 . 10.1016/0191-8869(86)90082-6 .
  13. Salib E, Cortina-Borja M . Effect of month of birth on the risk of suicide . The British Journal of Psychiatry: The Journal of Mental Science . 188 . 5. 416–22 . May 2006 . 16648527 . 10.1192/bjp.bp.105.009118 . 13558795 . free .
  14. Chotai J, Salander Renberg E . Season of birth variations in suicide methods in relation to any history of psychiatric contacts support an independent suicidality trait . Journal of Affective Disorders . 69 . 1–3 . 69–81 . May 2002 . 12103454 . 10.1016/s0165-0327(00)00379-7 .

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