{"id":997214,"date":"2026-08-13T02:02:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T02:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/997214\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T02:02:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T02:02:19","slug":"birth-order-may-predict-risk-for-allergies-psychiatric-disorders-and-substance-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/997214\/","title":{"rendered":"Birth order may predict risk for allergies, psychiatric disorders and substance use"},"content":{"rendered":"

New study links birth order to distinct health patterns<\/a> <\/p>\n

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel analyzes a study of 10 million children indicating that birth order shapes health risks. First-born siblings show higher rates of ADHD and autism, while second-born children face increased risks for migraines. Siegel joins Ainsley Earhardt to explain how parental attention and immune system development drive these stark differences.<\/p>\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

Whether someone is the older or younger sibling may be linked to certain health outcomes later in life, according to a massive new study.<\/p>\n

Analyzing medical data<\/a> from 10 million U.S. siblings over two decades, researchers from the University of Chicago and Columbia University found links suggesting that birth order may be connected to specific long-term health risks.<\/p>\n

Researchers examined 569 disease categories across families and among siblings, identifying 150 conditions that were significantly associated with birth order.<\/p>\n

LONGER LIVES, WORSE HEALTH? SCIENTISTS UNCOVER TROUBLING TREND ACROSS GENERATIONS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

First-born children showed a higher likelihood of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses, including autism<\/a>, ADHD, Tourette’s and OCD, as well as immune-allergic conditions like food allergies.<\/p>\n

Second-born children were statistically more prone to migraines<\/a>, shingles, substance use disorders and gastrointestinal issues like gastritis.<\/p>\n

\"Three-year-old <\/p>\n

First-born children showed higher rates of neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, ADHD, Tourette’s and OCD, as well as an increased prevalence of allergies. (iStock)<\/p>\n

Discussing the findings on “Fox & Friends,” Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News, noted the value of such a wide-scale study.<\/p>\n

“I love this study because it opens a lot of questions more than it gives answers, but I think I have some answers,” the doctor said.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Regarding the heightened prevalence of ADHD among first-borns, Siegel offered his own hypothesis about parental behavior.<\/p>\n

“My theory, they get more stimuli. The parents are like hovering over them, helicoptering them … and they don’t know where to look,” he said.<\/p>\n

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Addressing the disparities in allergic conditions<\/a>, Siegel pointed to early environmental exposure, stating, “I think it’s because the firstborn’s immune system hasn’t seen the environment before. And if it’s not set properly, you get an allergy.”<\/p>\n

\"Three <\/p>\n

Differences in parental focus, early microbial exposure and maternal biological changes between pregnancies could help explain the distinct health patterns, the doctor said. (iStock)<\/p>\n

Siegel also touched on biological and psychological factors when evaluating differences between siblings.<\/p>\n

“I think the womb changes after you have your first child, and the second child gets a womb that’s already been used. So therefore, it’s more set for it,” he said.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Regarding the higher rate of substance use disorders<\/a> among second-born children, Siegel suggested emotional drivers, saying, “it may be the same idea: ‘I want attention. I’m looking for attention. I wanna do something to get a rise out of you.'”<\/p>\n

While the research highlights patterns across a large population, the study comes with limitations.<\/p>\n

\"Three <\/p>\n

The study highlights population-level statistical correlations, but it does not prove that birth order directly causes any specific medical condition. (iStock)<\/p>\n

The findings demonstrate correlations rather than direct causation, meaning the trends don’t necessarily stem from physiological changes, early microbial exposures or social dynamics.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the data relies on commercial health insurance claims, which can reflect differences in diagnosis, healthcare-seeking behavior and parental attention<\/a> rather than true biological functions alone.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Factors such as the age of parents between births and varying age gaps between siblings also complicate these associations. Ultimately, researchers emphasized that birth order serves as a modest population-level risk marker rather than a definitive health predictor.<\/p>\n

The research was published in the journal Nature Health.<\/p>\n

Khloe Quill is a lifestyle<\/a> writer with Fox News Digital. She and the lifestyle team cover a range of story topics including food and drink, travel, and health.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New study links birth order to distinct health patterns Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel analyzes…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":997215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[11],"tags":[17667,84824,210,3740,4757,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-997214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-childrens-health","tag-family-genres","tag-health","tag-medical-research","tag-parenting","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=997214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/997215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=997214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=997214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=997214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}