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Background: Our population‐based study has previously shown that being born in winter or spring was associated with adult‐onset asthma. The aim was to study if season of birth (SOB) is associated with airway allergy and related diseases: NSAID exacerbated respiratory disease (N‐ERD), asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), nonallergic rhinitis (NAR), chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) in Finland. Methods: A randomly sampled retrospective registry‐based follow‐up data (n = 74,868) of patients visiting Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS) in Finland was used. The birth date, sex, visit date and comorbidities were collected from electronic health record data during visits from 2005 to 2019. Results: The mean (SD, range) age of the sample was 34.53 (25.47, 0–102) years, with 48.7 % being men. We divided the whole population in four groups based on the season they were born (SOB‐groups). When observing these four SOB‐groups, the proportion of those having asthma was 43.1%, 42.1%, 41.1%, 42.7%, in winter, spring, summer, and autumn SOB‐groups, respectively. The proportion of those having AR was 12.6%, 12.0%, 10.7%, 12.1%, respectively. When having summer as a reference, being born in any other time of year was significantly associated with AR and, being born in autumn or winter was associated with asthma. No significant association was observed in CRS or N‐ERD or NAR groups in adjusted models. Conclusions: The study suggests that early life immunological events may have a role a role in pathogenesis of asthma and AR. As no association was observed between SOB and CRSsNP, CRSwNP, N‐ERD or NAR, further studies on this are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D) is a chronic disease with a high prevalence worldwide. Human literature suggests factors beyond well‐known risk factors (e.g., age, body mass index) for T2D: cytomegalovirus serostatus, season of birth, maternal age, birth weight, and depression. Nothing is known, however, about whether these variables are influential in primate models of T2D. Methods: Using a retrospective methodology, we identified 22 cases of spontaneously occurring T2D among rhesus monkeys at our facility. A control sample of n = 1199 was identified. Results: Animals born to mothers that were ≤5.5 years of age, and animals that showed heightened Activity and Emotionality in response to brief separation in infancy, had a greater risk for development of T2D in adulthood. Conclusions: Knowledge of additional risk factors for T2D could help colony managers better identify at‐risk animals and enable diabetes researchers to select animals that might be more responsive to their manipulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Balavata Kala janm (~birth in a season when people naturally gain strength) is one of an individual's Bala (~strength) enhancing factors, according to Ayurveda. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) showed heterogeneous clinical manifestations in the global population, and the role of innate immunity in COVID-19 pathogenesis came up. The objective of this study was to see the association between the season of birth (SOB) and COVID-19 clinical manifestations. The association of ABO blood group systems was studied as a secondary objective. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted from October 2020 to January 2021 at an Ayurveda research center in India. Confirmed patients of COVID-19 from 0 to 80 years of age group were telephonically contacted and interviewed through a structured questionnaire prepared in Google Forms after obtaining informed verbal consent. Based on the Ayurvedic concept of strength in Adana (~Northern solstice) and Visarga Kala (~Southern solstice), the categorization of participants according to their SOB was done. Results: The study included 402 participants and analyzed data through IBM SPSS. The odds ratio (OR) of COVID-19 clinical outcomes and SOB was analyzed using a multivariate logistic regression model to control confounding variables. Birth in the season of maximum strength was significantly associated with a lower percentage (22.1%) of symptomatic cases (crude OR = 0.54, 95% confidence intervals = 0.33–0.87). Maximum participants (55.1%) had B blood group, and the percentage of symptomatic participants was the highest among them, being 22.9%. However, this association was insignificant in the multivariate logistic regression model. Conclusion: Study outcomes indicate that SOB has a significant effect on COVID-19 clinical outcomes.

The number of births varies by season. Research on birth seasonality has shown that women's season of birth somehow influences that of their children, but factors underlying the intergenerational transmission of birth seasonality remain unknown. With data from Spain and France, we analysed the possibility of transmission of birth season between generations, testing whether relatives tended to be born in the same season. Results indicated that there was an association—a similarity—between parents' and children's birth seasons, partially explaining the stability of seasonal patterns over time. This association also existed between parents' birth seasons. While parents' association is directly explained by an excess of marriages with spouses born in the same month, the overall association may be explained by two facts: different socio-demographic groups show differentiated birth patterns, and relatives share socio-demographic features. Birth season seems to be related to family characteristics, which should be controlled for when assessing birth-month effects on subsequent social/health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catatonia is a neuropsychiatric syndrome associated with both psychiatric disorders and medical conditions. Understanding of the pathophysiology of catatonia remains limited, and the role of the environment is unclear. Although seasonal variations have been shown for many of the disorders underlying catatonia, the seasonality of this syndrome has not yet been adequately explored. Clinical records were screened to identify a cohort of patients suffering from catatonia and a control group of psychiatric inpatients, from 2007 to 2016 in South London. In a cohort study, the seasonality of presentation was explored fitting regression models with harmonic terms, while the effect of season of birth on subsequent development of catatonia was analyzed using regression models for count data. In a case-control study, the association between month of birth and catatonia was studied fitting logistic regression models. In total, 955 patients suffering from catatonia and 23,409 controls were included. The number of catatonic episodes increased during winter, with a peak in February. Similarly, an increasing number of cases was observed during summer, with a second peak in August. However, no evidence for an association between month of birth and catatonia was found. The presentation of catatonia showed seasonal variation in accordance with patterns described for many of the disorders underlying catatonia, such as mood disorders and infections. We found no evidence for an association between season of birth and risk of developing catatonia. This may imply that recent triggers may underpin catatonia, rather than distal events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effects of birth month on reproduction and mating behavior using historical and contemporary census data from 1820 to 1970. The research examines the effect of birth month on the number of children for women and their male spouses, finding a monthly cycle for both men and women. In addition, the study examines whether birth month influences whether a person has ever been married. In support of previous research, we find clear birth month effects on the number of children for both women and their spouses, while the time series of ever being married shows a 60-month and a 10-year cycle, the latter possibly related to the solar cycle. Although the effects are small, both results, based on a large and representative dataset, indicate the importance of early life factors on mating and reproduction. • We examined the effects of month and year of birth using two large US Census data sets. • A woman's month of birth, as well as the month of birth of her spouses, influences the number of children a woman has, as well as her mating success. • The time series of birth year shows a periodicity in ever being married of 10 years for men, presumably indicating solar cycle effects on mating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Winter birth has consistently been identified as a risk factor for schizophrenia. This study aimed to determine whether individuals born during this season are also at higher risk for early psychosis and whether this is associated with distinct functional and clinical outcomes., Methods: We conducted a prospective study on 222 patients during their early phase of psychosis in Switzerland, nested in the Treatment and Early Intervention in Psychosis (TIPP) cohort. We compared the birth trimesters of these patients with those of the general Swiss population. Additionally, we evaluated the Global Assessment of Functioning scale (GAF) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores among patients born in winter (January to March) versus those born during the rest of the year during a three-year follow-up period., Results: A significantly higher proportion of patients experiencing early psychosis were born in winter compared to the general Swiss population. Patients born in winter had significantly lower GAF scores at 6 months, 24 months, and 36 months of follow-up, compared to patients born during the rest of the year. They also manifested fewer positive symptoms, as indicated by the PANSS positive subscale., Conclusion: Birth in winter appears to be associated with a lower functional outcome and potentially distinct symptomatology in the early phase of psychosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)