All in the stars? A new theory

According to a recently published study conducted at the University of Alicante, seasonal changes in ultraviolet rays, vitamin D levels and viruses may affect foetal development.

Reporting in the Daily Telegraph of 21 June 2017, Science Editor Sarah Knapton writes that: “Spanish scientists mapped birth months to 27 chronic diseases to see if it made a difference and were surprised to find it has a significant impact for some conditions. Men who were born in September, for example, were almost three times more likely to suffer thyroid problems than those born in January. August male babies had almost double the risk of asthma in comparison to those born at the beginning of the year. Similarly, women born in July were 27 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure and were at a 40 per cent increased risk of incontinence.” The researchers speculate that levels of vitamin D from sunshine, as well as seasonal illness, could be behind the variance, by either boosting the body’s inner defences or harming them early on.

Published in the journal Medicina Clinica, the study by Prof. Jose Antonio Quesada is likely to attract the interest of astrologers. And medical insurance companies.

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