International Left-Handers Day 2024: 5 ways being left-handed affects your health

International Left-Handers Day 2024: Wherever you go, left-handers are always the odd one out. According to statistics, left-handers make up about 10 percent of the world’s population. And, in addition to having some trouble using gadgets that are mostly made for right-handed people, being left-handed also has some subtle effects on physical and mental health.

While left-handed people’s brains work differently than right-handed people’s, doctors say dominant hand use is determined in the earliest stages of fetal development. Below are some of the most common facts about being left-handed and what this could mean for health.

Left-handed people are at higher risk of fear psychosis

According to studies, left-handed people around the world are more prone to certain mental disorders. Research indicates that people with psychosis have a 20 percent chance of being left-handed. A study from Yale University in Connecticut and the University of Texas at Dallas evaluated 107 patients in outpatient psychiatric clinics. For those with mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder, the rate of left-handedness was closer to average, at 11 percent.

However, in people with schizophrenia, which is characterized by psychosis, the rate of left-handedness is over 40 percent, well above average. According to experts, the brain’s laterality plays a role in this.

Additionally, research says that left-handed people are also more likely to have negative emotions and anger.

Left-handed women have a more stressful pregnancy

According to a British study, fetuses of women who are extremely stressed during pregnancy are more likely to touch their face with their left hand than with their right, making it the first sign of a left-handed child.

Additionally, in other studies, babies with low birth weight, or born to older mothers, were more likely to be left-handed.

Left-handed people are not good at social development

According to a study conducted in Australia, the academic performance of left-handed children, in terms of vocabulary, reading, writing, social development and gross and fine motor skills, is not as good as that of right-handed children. Ambidextrous children perform even worse than left-handed children.

Experts say left-handed children use both halves of their brains in unusual ways, putting them at risk for mild learning disabilities. However, most children catch up with their classmates as they grow older.

They have a higher risk of breast cancer

According to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer, left-handed women have a higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer than right-handed women. Experts say the risk difference is more pronounced for women who have gone through menopause.

Left-handed people are probably alcoholics.

Although research on this topic is a bit vague, experts believe that left-handed people are more likely to become alcoholics. Small-sample studies have shown that those with a dominant left hand drink more frequently than their right-handed counterparts.