Firstborn children have a higher risk of developing allergies and even asthma, new research says.
The findings, to be presented Wednesday at the American Thoracic Society’s 2008 International Conference in Toronto, indicate that a firstborn child faces different conditions in the womb than his or her subsequent siblings.
The researchers, led by Dr. Wilfried Karmaus of the University of South Carolina, studied more than 1,200 newborns from the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. The team analyzed whether the immune system’s genetic markers, which are determined at birth, would develop differently in firstborn children. Read more…