This morning we read with interest an article in the Daily Mail newspaper which links MND to the month that you were born in. According to the article, being born between April and August means you are at a greater risk of developing MND. However, as far as we can tell, there is no scientific evidence to prove this theory.
The reason for this, according to the article, is that a mother’s level of exposure to sunlight in pregnancy is linked to a number of diseases and disorders. For MND at least, there is not any strong evidence to suggest that this is true.
The article does not state where they have found this information linking MND cases to being born between April and August, nor do they state where or how the research was conducted, or for how many people. In order to find out whether this statement was true, a large MND register would need to be used, which contained the birth month of every single person with MND in a given geographical location. Only then would they be able to conclude anything significant for that location. As there have already been a number of registers set up around the world, this would have already been identified, if it were true.
There is also no evidence that this research, with no name, no authors – apart from a casual mention of ‘the scientists’, has been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal –the gold standard for publishing results from research studies.
If the answer to what causes MND were as ‘simple’ as being due to the month you were born in, we would have found it a long time ago.
To find the causes of MND, we’re currently funding a growing number of projects and with every new project we fund, we move one step closer to finding the answers.
Find out more about the causes of MND on our website.
Link to Daily Mail story titled: Does your month of birth hold key to future health?
