How can including external files or scripts impact the behavior of session variables in a PHP application?

Including external files or scripts in a PHP application can impact the behavior of session variables if the included file modifies the session data. To prevent unintended changes to session variables, it's important to use session_start() at the beginning of each file that accesses or modifies session data.

<?php
// File: index.php
session_start();
// Your PHP code here
?>