The season in which you are born have a significant impact on your risk of developing mood disorders, according to a recent study.

Hungarian researchers found that people born at certain times of the year may have a greater chance of developing certain types of affective temperaments, which in turn can lead to mood disorders (affective disorders).

Seasons of birth have traditionally been associated with certain personality traits, such as novelty seeking, and various folklore justifications, such as astrology, have sought to explain these associations.

"Biochemical studies have shown that the season in which you are born has an influence on certain monoamine neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, which is detectable even in adult life," Xenia Gonda, lead researcher of the study, said in a statement. "This led us to believe that birth season may have a longer-lasting effect."

For the study, researchers examined more than 400 subjects and matched their birth season to personality types in later life.

The group found a few statistically significant trends.

Those with cyclothymic temperament, which is characterized by rapid, frequent swings between sad and cheerful moods, tended to be born in the summer. Hyperthymic temperament, a tendency to be excessively positive, were significantly higher in those born in spring and summer

They also found that those born in the winter were significantly less prone to irritable temperament than those born at other times of the year, while those born in autumn showed a significantly lower tendency to depressive temperament than those born in winter.

The findings were presented at the European College of CNP Congress in Berlin.