| Application: | 41877, Mechanisms linking season of birth to later-life circadian and mood disorders |
| Title: | Seasonality and season of birth effect in the UK Biobank cohort |
| Size: | 7811 B |
| Archived: | 14 Sep 2021 |
| Stability: | Complete |
| Personal: | No individual-level data |
Return 3802
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Notes
Humans live in environments that reduce the impact of seasonal cues. However, studies suggest that many aspects of human biology such as birth, metabolism, health and death are still annually rhythmic. Using UK Biobank, we investigated the influence of seasonality on birth rate, basal metabolic rate, health, reaction speed and sleep. We also investigated how season of birth programs our later-life behaviors. We found that annual birth rate peaks in April and May. Poorer subjective general health and slower reaction time were observed in May. Susceptibility to insomnia showed an opposite trend that peaked in autumn and winter. People reported shorter periods of sleep, easier waking, earlier chronotype, more daytime dozing and napping in summer compared to winter. Our results suggest that season of birth may influence later-life characteristics. Overall, our findings show that human sleep, cognition, metabolism and reproduction may be seasonal, and that season of birth appears to have an effect on health and behaviors in adulthood.Application 41877
Mechanisms linking season of birth to later-life circadian and mood disorders
Season of birth has been correlated with a number diseases such schizophrenia, diabetes, affective disorders, allergy and neurodegenerative disorders. Chronobiology is also added to this list of phenotypes that is programmed in the early life. Daily preferences (chronotype) of sleeping times may be determined in the postnatal period. Machanism underlying this postnatal programming of biological clock is a focus of interest since a balanced circadian rhythm is essential for physiological and mental health. It has been demonstrated in previous studies that season of birth may modify epigenetics, gene expression, neural activity and brain morphology. A study of UK Biobank data with this magnitude would provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying the programming effects of early light environment during development. We will compare season of birth and chronotype of participants using staistcal analysis. We aim to investigate how season of birth may alter our daily activity, sleep quality, mood and brain morphology. The environment contributes to our development from in utero to adulthood. In a modern world with light pollution, our rhythm may be disrupted. How illumination of neonatal intensive care units or pregnant mothers working shift work will affect human biology is unknown. The season of birth most likely influences human mood and circadian health. When understood in greater detail, we can provide guidance and policy on best aproaches to maintain good sleep hygiene practices to improve human well-being.
| Lead investigator: | Mr Altug Didikoglu |
| Lead institution: | University of Manchester |
2 related Returns
| Return ID | App ID | Description | Archive Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3804 | 41877 | Early life factors and COVID-19 infection in England: A prospective analysis of UK Biobank participants. Early Human Development | 14 Sep 2021 |
| 3803 | 41877 | Interactions between Season of Birth, Chronological Age and Genetic Polymorphisms in Determining Later-Life Chronotype | 14 Sep 2021 |
1 Publication
| Pub ID | Title | Author(s) | Year | Journal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3803 | Seasonality and season of birth effect in the UK Biobank cohort | Didikoglu A et al. | 2020 | Am J Hum Biol |
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