Cincinnati Babies

s/o Food Allergies......another interesting article

This one finds a link between birth order and allergies.  Of course, the opposite was true in our case, but interesting nonetheless.

Food allergies more common in older siblings

'Birth order effect' may be linked to prenatal conditions or mother's immunity, researchers say


By Rachael Rettner

Older siblings are more likely to suffer from food allergies than their younger brothers and sisters, according to a new study.

Among the study participants, the prevalence of food allergies was 4 percent in firstborn children, 3.5 percent in second-born children, and 2.6 percent in those born later.

Firstborns were also more likely to have allergic rhinitis (an itchy, running nose) and conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eyelids) than their younger siblings. However, birth order did not seem to impact children's susceptibility to asthma or atopic dermatitis (a type of eczema ).

Previous studies have shown a link between birth order and vulnerability to allergies, but the new study examined how this effect differs depending on the type of allergy. The study is the first to show this "birth order effect" occurs specifically in food allergies, the researchers say.

The findings are based on surveys of more than 13,000 children ages 7 to 15. The researchers compared the prevalence of each allergy to the children's birth order.

Researchers aren't sure why younger siblings appear to have some protection against allergies compared to older siblings. It may have something to do with changes in the womb or prenatal environment. For instance, multiple pregnancies may cause changes to the mother's immune system, which may affect the fetus, said study researcher Takashi Kusunoki, of the Shiga Medical Center for Children in Shiga, Japan.

The birth order effect may also be tied to the hygiene hypothesis, the idea that an environment that is too clean may cause the immune system to react to harmless substances, and thus lead to allergies. More children in the house means more germs. Younger siblings may be exposed to more pathogens at an earlier age than their elder siblings, Kusunoki told MyHealthNewsDaily.

The survey also asked parents whether their children experienced wheezing, eczema or food allergy before age 1. The researchers saw the same effect ? the incidence of food allergies was lower in younger siblings. This suggests the effect may have its origins in the womb, the researchers say.

The findings were presented March 20 at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in San Francisco.

 

Justin Thomas joined us on 8.4.07
Tyler Anthony arrived on 9.21.09
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Re: s/o Food Allergies......another interesting article

  • Hmmm.  Interesting.  DS had no food allergies, but was allergic to everything else.  And he had asthma.  I also have allergies and asthma.  I was hoping DD would escape.  Maybe we just need to plan a move to Arizona.  LOL.  I want to go to Florida, but I hear sinus issues are worse there.  I hate to do that to her, but we are close to considering a move out of state right now. 
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  • so far this rings true for us. Ben has food and enviromental allergies, asthma, and atopic dermatitis while Nathan hasn't really shown reactions to anything as of yet (I'm still on the fence as to whether he was ever intolerant to milk...I'm convinced it was always A.R.). He has had a pretty severe reaction all of a sudden to his cloth diapers but thats it.
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  • Man, older children just get the shaft on everything.

    Really, that's very interesting. We're all lucky that we have no food allergies (though I'm allergic to pretty much everything in nature and some red food dyes).

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  • Fingers crossed this is true for us.  I am on the fence about another baby because of allergies.  I couldn't go through this stuff again (if it is as bad as Katelyn's).
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  • That is interesting. I think my family beat the odds though.  My mom has horrible horrible allergies, foods, drugs, environmental, you name it.  My dad, mostly environmental and not too severe.  I'm the oldest and really only have environmental allergies that are pretty tolerable but my little sister also got food allergies and has anaphylactics around cats.  I'm glad I broke the pattern!
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