Health Update: Allergy linked to date of birth

BABIES born in September, October or November may be protected from some common childhood allergies, according to doctors in Munich. In a survey involving more than 6,500 children from Bavaria, they found that those born in September were less likely to develop skin allergy to grass pollen, while October babies were at less risk of developing asthma. Those born in November were less prone to hay fever.

Conversely, the researchers say in Clinical and Experimental Allergy, children born in February, May and June had a slightly increased risk of developing skin sensitivity to grass pollen. Children born in May were more likely to develop hay fever, while those born in August were more likely to get asthma.