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Does birth order determine the health we will have throughout life? What a study of 10 million siblings reveals

2026-05-11 22:06:51Lifestyle SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
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Is there really a link between birth order and health? Although it may sound surprising, according to a recent study published on the MedRxiv platform, this connection is real.

The findings suggest that while firstborn children are more likely to exhibit neurodevelopmental disorders and allergies, secondborns face a higher risk for migraines, gastrointestinal disorders and substance abuse.

The study looked at a giant sample of over ten million brothers and sisters in the United States, analyzing 569 health conditions and finding significant associations for 150 of them.

However, it is important to note that the study is limited to the American context, where the healthcare system is largely private.

In particular, it emerged that firstborn children are more at risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism, Tourette syndrome, and ADHD.

They also show a higher incidence of allergies (allergic rhinitis and food allergies), acne, and anxiety disorders. On the other hand, second-born children show an increased risk of herpes zoster, migraines, gastrointestinal problems, and a tendency toward substance abuse.

But why do these differences occur?

The researchers propose several explanations for these results. First, second-born children develop stronger immune systems, as they are exposed to microbes from a very young age thanks to their older siblings. This explains the lower incidence of allergies in them.

Second, firstborn children tend to be monitored more closely by parents and taken to the doctor more often, which may explain why conduct disorders are more commonly diagnosed in older siblings.

Finally, the authors hypothesize that second children may be more prone to risky behaviors, which is related to substance abuse. The age difference between the children also plays a key role.

According to Andrey Rzhetsky, one of the study's authors, a smaller gap is associated with a lower incidence of some diseases. Specifically, a time gap of less than four years between births is associated with lower rates of asthma and allergies.

Siblings of similar ages interact more frequently, exchanging microbes that help strengthen the microbiome and immune system. However, the samples are exclusively American. Also, the data come from insurance claims, not direct clinical measurements of disease prevalence.

This means that the results may reflect parents' behavior: they seek diagnoses more often for their first child than for their second, especially for conditions like autism or ADHD, where symptoms can be subtle.


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