What Your Birth Month Can Predict About Your Health

You may not put too much stock in your astrological horoscope, but what about a health horoscope? Your birth month may be able to tell you a lot about your health issues, according to research published earlier this month in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. Scientists studied medical records from almost 750,000 individuals, discovering an association between birth month and the risk of dozens of diseases. And not all birthdays were created equal—some had higher risk for many diseases, some had lower, and some had not much in either direction. Let’s break down some of the findings by month:

JANUARY

Higher risk of hypertension
Higher risk of heart disease
Lower risk of asthma
Lower risk of ear infections
Lower risk of vomiting

FEBRUARY

Increased risk of bronchus and lung tumors
Lower risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Lower risk of fever
Lower risk of stomach disorders

MARCH

Higher risk of cardiovascular disease and disorders
Lower risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Lower risk of learning difficulties
Lower risk of painful periods
Lower risk of tonsillitis

APRIL

Higher risk of cardiovascular disease
Lower risk of nearsightedness and longsightedness
Lower risk of bruising
Lower risk of vision loss

MAY

Lowest risk of chronic diseases
Lower risk of upper respiratory infections

JUNE

Higher risk of exacerbation of asthma
Lower risk of venereal diseases

JULY

Lower risk of cysts and ovarian torsion
Lower risk of pregnancy complications
Lower risk of diarrhea

AUGUST

Higher risk of pink-eye

SEPTEMBER

Higher risk of asthma
Higher risk of pregnancy complications
Higher risk of ear infections
Lower risk of cardiovascular disease

OCTOBER

Higher risk of nearsightedness and longsightedness
Higher risk of developing asthma
Higher risk of respiratory illness
Higher risk of reproductive diseases
Higher risk of neurological diseases
Higher risk of bruising
Higher risk of venereal diseases
Higher risk of painful periods
Lower risk of cardiovascular disease
Lower risk of cardiac failure

NOVEMBER

Higher risk of respiratory illness
Higher risk of reproductive diseases
Higher risk of neurological diseases
Higher risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Lower risk of heart disorders

DECEMBER

Higher risk of bruising

For a full list and to see the full paper, click here.

The researchers attribute their findings to a few different factors—one being the mother’s environment during the birth month (for example, people born during seasons with more home dust mites had a 40 percent higher risk of developing asthma complicated by dust mite allergies). And they urge you not to panic if you were born during a high-risk month. Plenty more research is needed, and we can’t disregard indirect factors behind some of the associations (the researchers cite depression affecting fertility and learning ability as one).

And May and July babies? Put down that celebratory pizza pie—a lucky birthday can only do so much if you have unhealthy lifestyle habits.