Eldest child is easier to affected by allergy
Allergies can affect anyone, either children or adults. But a study shows that the eldest son, aka the first child born in a family more susceptible to various allergies.
A new study conducted on 13,000 children in Japanese schools and the results have been published in the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology in San Francisco, show that the birth order effect on food allergy in children.
The first child or the firstborn is more likely to develop some type of allergy rather than younger brother or younger brother. Researchers say these findings show that allergies have started to develop in the period of gestation in the womb, the first-born children have a greater risk of allergies.
The study showed no significant difference in the prevalence of asthma or atopic dermatitis (a type of eczema) in order of birth. But the prevalence of allergic rhinitis (cold or seasonal allergies), allergic conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eyes due to allergies) and food allergy decreased based on birth order, highest to lowest.
“Children born at the end has a smaller risk of allergy. However, this effect may be different for different allergies,” said Takashi Kusunoki, MD, PhD, from the Shiga Medical Center for Children in Moriyama, Japan, as reported by medicalnewstoday.
In the study, 4 percent of the first child has some kind of food allergy compared to 3.5 percent from 2.6 percent the second son and third child. About 4 percent of children under the age of 18 years or about three million people reported having food allergies in 2007, up from 18 percent in 1997, according to the United States Center for Disease Control (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC).
Milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish are the most common cause, although more than 170 other foods have been reported to cause allergic reactions.
The symptoms can range from eczema and itching in asthma, inflammation of the esophagus, diarrhea, vomiting, throat, and anaphylaxis (an allergic reaction that affects the entire body), life-threatening.
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Posted in Mom & Kids
Tags: allergy children, allergy symptoms