Anorexia nervosa , an eating disorder that involves weight loss caused by the patient himself, is more common among individuals born in spring, specifically between March and June, according to a study published in the British journal Journal of Psychiatry . Lahiru Handunnetthi and colleagues at the Oxford University Center for Human Genetics came to that conclusion after comparing data from about 1,300 patients with that of the general population. "The predisposition to suffer anorexia is conditioned by the season of the year in which a person is born, being higher in those born in spring and lower for those born in autumn", explains Handunnetthi. According to the researchers, previous studies suggested that the prevalence of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder is higher among those born in the "flower season," so it is not surprising that anorexia is added to the list.
The researcher suggests that it would be necessary to identify which factors influence the predisposition to the disease, possibly linked to sun exposure or infections during pregnancy, to diet, or to the mother's vitamin D levels while the fetus is developing.
