Astrology may be bogus, but the month you're born has certain undeniable coincidences

I read an interesting comment concerning one's Facebook friends today. The study stated that in general people will have more "true" Facebook friends (those which you actually have a close relationship) that are born in the same month as they are. Of course, there is a good reason for this — people born in the same month often share very similar personality traits and they even tend to suffer from the same health risks.

It can also point to those who you are more likely to be drawn toward based on platonic attraction. Common interests are often a building block to deep emotional connection and forming friendships.

The scientific community has long since discarded astrology as pseudoscience. Yet new scientific research suggests your "astrological sign" actually may have more to do with your health than you might think. This is not because of the influence of any heavenly bodies, but because of the time of the year you are born. A new study suggests that your birth month has a connection with the diseases you might develop in your lifetime.

Whether the reason is purely coincidental or is due to some yet unknown factor remains unknown. What is known is that there have been a number of studies into the relationship between personality traits and birthdays, and all the studies have reached the same conclusion — that there is a strong correlation between the two factors.

Dr. Mark Hamilton, a social scientist and researcher at the University of Connecticut, authored a widely circulated study on the topic, which was published in the academic journal Comprehensive Psychology. He examined data on a variety of celebrities from a range of fields which included actors, sports stars, politicians, writers, other types of artists, and more. His researched concluded that their birthdays were concentrated around certain times of the year and that those born in the same month shared similar personality traits.

Other studies have linked health risks with birth months.  They also found a significant connection between an individual’s lifetime chances of developing certain health risks and their birth month.

One that was published in the Journal of American Medical Informatics Association identified 55 diseases linked to one’s birth month. Mary Regina Boland, Nicholas Tatonetti and other researchers at the Columbia University Department of Medicine examined records for an incredible 1.75 million patients born between 1900 and 2000 who had been treated at Columbia University Medical Center. Using statistical analysis, they combed through the list of myriad diseases and found 55 that had a correlation with birth month, including ADHD, reproductive performance, asthma, eyesight and ear infections.

The researchers emphasize that other environmental factors, such as diet, medical care and exercise, are more likely to influence whether you get a disease. And since these numbers are culled from New York City, they may not be applicable to babies born in other places.

It’s important to note that all these findings show correlation, not causation, but either way it’s all so intriguing! Perhaps there is more to the old adage that "birds of a feather flock together" than we might believe.

Join me in an experiment. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/birthdays and you will find a list of all of your friends on Facebook, sorted by month. Note which month contains the most friends and in the comments section here. Simply write your own birth month and the month which contains the most Facebook friends on your list.

For me it turns out that I was born in October and I have more friends born in October than any other month. So October/October! What about you?