Of interest? This was in Medscape today. And it
seems to show the _opposite_ of what I've always
understood, which is that (at least for breastfed
babies) there is a higher risk of
allergy/sensitivity with increased birth order. Comments, anyone?
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/739587?sssdmh=dm1.675114&src=nldne
(you have to be subscribed to access this ...)
From WebMD Health News
Birth Order May Affect Risk of Allergies
Jennifer Warner
March 21, 2011 — First-born children may be more
likely to develop certain types of allergies than
their younger brothers or sisters, a study suggests.
Researchers found the prevalence of several types
of allergies, such as allergic rhinitis (hay
fever or seasonal allergies), allergic
conjunctivitis (eye inflammation due to
allergies), and food allergy decreased as birth
order increased in a large group of Japanese schoolchildren.
For example, 4% of first-borns had some type of
food allergy compared with 3.5% of second-borns and 2.6% of third-borns.
Researchers say it's the first study to show an
effect of birth order on food allergy.
Benefit of Being the Youngest
Researchers surveyed the parents of more than
13,000 schoolchildren in Japan aged 7 to 15 about
the prevalence of specific allergic diseases.
Based on the results, researchers calculated the
prevalence of each allergic disease based on birth order.
The results showed there was no significant
difference in the prevalence of asthma or atopic
dermatitis (a type of eczema) according to birth order.
But the prevalence of allergic rhinitis, allergic
conjunctivitis, and food allergy decreased based
on birth order -- from oldest to youngest.
“Individuals with increased birth order have a
smaller risk of allergy," explained Takashi
Kusunoki, MD, PhD, of the Shiga Medical Center
for Children in Moriyama, Japan, in a news
release. "However, the significance of the effect
may differ by allergic diseases.”
Prenatal Origins of Allergies?
The study also showed that in infancy symptoms
such as wheezing increased and food allergies
decreased as birth order increased.
Researchers say these findings suggest that food
allergies may have their origins in the prenatal period in the womb.
The results were presented at the Annual Meeting
of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology in San Francisco.
This study was presented at a medical conference.
The findings should be considered preliminary as
they have not yet undergone the "peer review"
process, in which outside experts scrutinize the
data prior to publication in a medical journal.
SOURCES:
Annual Meeting of the American Academy of
Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, San Francisco, March 18-22, 2011.
News release, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
-------------------
Pamela Morrison IBCLC
Rustington, England
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