From: drarwingnuttephd@gmail.com   
      
   Birth season linked to risk of later-life mood disorders    
      
   20 October 2014 - 8am PST    
   Mental HealthPsychology / PsychiatryDepressionPregnancy / ObstetricsMNT   
   featured    
      
      
   It is well established that seasons can affect mood. But a new study by   
   researchers from Hungary claims the season during which we are born may   
   influence our risk of developing mood disorders later in life.    
      
      
      
   The season during which we are born could influence our risk of mood disorders   
   in adulthood, according to researchers.    
   The research team, led by Xenia Gonda of Semmelweis University in Budapest,   
   Hungary, recently presented their findings at the European College of   
   Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress in Germany.    
      
   Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is possibly the most well-known mood   
   disorder triggered by the changing seasons. During autumn and winter months,   
   individuals with SAD can experience depressive symptoms - such as sadness,   
   anxiety, feelings of    
   hopelessness and guilt, and even suicidal thoughts. These symptoms usually   
   lift in the spring and summer months.    
      
   SAD can occur at any point in life. But can the risk of such disorders be   
   influenced by the season during which we are born?    
      
   According to Gonda, biochemical studies have indicated that the season a   
   person is born in may affect their levels of dopamine and serotonin -   
   neurotransmitters that can influence mood - which can be detected in   
   adulthood. "This led us to believe that    
   birth season may have a longer-lasting effect," says Gonda.    
      
   People born in spring or summer more likely to be cheerful, positive    
   For their study, the researchers analyzed more than 400 participants. They   
   looked at the birth season of each participant before assessing their   
   personality traits in adulthood.    
      
   They found that participants born in summer were much more likely to have   
   swift, frequent changes between cheerful and sad moods - referred to as a   
   cyclothymic temperament - compared with those born in winter.    
      
   Participants born in spring and summer were much more likely to have a   
   hyperthymic temperament - defined as being extremely positive and cheerful   
   with high energy levels - compared with those born in autumn or winter.    
      
   Those born in autumn, however, were much less likely to have a depressive   
   temperament than participants born in winter, while those born in winter were   
   less likely to have an irritable temperament than those born in spring, summer   
   or autumn.    
      
   Commenting on their findings, Gonda says:    
      
   "Basically, it seems that when you are born may increase or decrease your   
   chance of developing certain mood disorders. We can't yet say anything about   
   the mechanisms involved. What we are now looking at is to see if there are   
   genetic markers that are    
   related to season of birth and mood disorders."    
      
   Prof. Eduard Vieta, of the ECNP, notes that it is well known that a person's   
   temperament is influenced by genetic and environmental factors, but the   
   findings from Gonda and her team suggest that birth season also plays a role.   
   "And the finding of 'high    
   mood' tendency (hyperthymic temperament) for those born in summer is quite   
   intriguing," he adds.    
      
   Last month, Medical News Today reported on a study by researchers in Israel,   
   which found that the season during which a baby is born may influence motor   
   development in its first year of life.    
      
   Written by Honor Whiteman    
      
      
   http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/284097.php?tw   
      
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