Birth month and disease risk related

Scientists have discovered a relationship between birth month and disease risk in New York.

A research team at Columbia University used a medical database from New York City and found 55 diseases correlated with the season of birth. People born in May showed the lowest disease risk and those born in October the highest.

“This data could help scientists uncover new disease risk factors,” said Dr Nicholas Tatonetti at Columbia University Medical Center.

In the study, published in the Journal of American Medical Informatics Association, the team developed an algorithm to compare 1,688 diseases against the birth dates and medical histories of 1.7 million patients treated at New York-Presbyterian Hospital between 1985 and 2013. The scientists ruled out more than 1,600 diseases, confirmed 39 previously reported in the medical literature and revealed 16 new conditions.

“Faster computers and electronic health records are accelerating the pace of discovery. We are working to help doctors solve important clinical problems using this new wealth of data,” said research leader Mary Boland.

[caption id="attachment_47391" align="aligncenter" width="500"] This data visualisation maps the statistical relationship between birth month and disease incidence in the records of 1.7 million New York City patients. Credit: Nick Tatonetti[/caption]

The results showed consistency with previous research on individual diseases. For asthma, the Columbia data showed that the risk is highest for babies born in July and October. An earlier Danish study on the disease found that the peak risk was in May and August when Denmark’s sunlight levels are similar to New York’s in the July and October period.

The 16 new conditions the team found included nine types of heart diseases. The team discovered that people born in March are facing the highest risk for heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, and mitral valve disorder.

Dr Tatonetti said: “It’s important not to get overly nervous about these results because even though we found significant associations the overall disease risk is not that great. The risk related to birth month is relatively minor when compared to more influential variables like diet and exercise.”

Next, the scientists are planning to replicate their study with data from several other locations in the US and abroad to see how the results vary with the change of seasons and environmental factors.

Paper: http://jamia.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/06/01/jamia.ocv046

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