Spring Babies Are More Likely To Have These Health Issues
There are a couple of ways that spring babies can define themselves. They can point to the calendar and say spring birthdays are those that fall during March, April, or May. Or they can point to the spring equinox and summer solstice as the start and end of spring, usually halfway through March to the middle or end of May. Regardless, there are plenty of benefits to spring birthdays. Mild weather makes for great outdoor parties and the greenery blooming everywhere feels like a celebration all its own. And according to one study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, spring babies are gifted with a few health benefits as well.
The Washington Post lays out the study's findings in handy charts. Researchers looked at people who suffer specific health conditions, then grouped them by birthday. Spring babies seem to have mild protection from some neurological, reproductive, and respiratory diseases compared to people born in other months.
It's not all good news, unfortunately. The same study found that spring babies were at higher risk for one specific type of disease. Even more troubling, it's one of the most common and deadly types of disease in the world.
Heart health troubles
Published in 2015, the study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association had plenty of good news for spring babies and their loved ones. Despite all this good news, however, the researchers did find one thing that spring babies may need to worry about more than their peers born in other months.
As laid out in charts in the Washington Post, people born in March and April are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease. This refers to any condition that affects the health of the heart. The CDC states that heart disease is the leading cause of death in America, and the World Health Organization points out that this is also the case worldwide.
Dr. Nicholas P. Tatonetti of Columbia University, the main researcher in the study, spoke with the Washington Post about the findings in the study. Tatonetti explained that researchers weren't sure why people born in certain months seemed predisposed to specific diseases. They theorize it relates to the amount of vitamin D that pregnant women are exposed to at various fetal development stages in addition to other environmental factors. It is, as the Post points out, a matter for future research. But for the time being, it's a good indication that spring babies should keep a close eye on their cardiovascular health.