Younger siblings were far more better off in this case and their percentages of developing nearsightedness were much lower.
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Lead author Jeremy Guggenheim, though, adds, “In the current study we set out to test whether the link between birth order and myopia might have arisen because first-born individuals tend to spend slightly longer in full-time education than later-born individuals”.
The researchers also found an association between education of the firstborns and nearsightedness.
In Singapore, for example, a previous study of more than 110,000 males with ages 15 to 25 revealed that the prevalence of nearsightedness and the rates of severe nearsightedness were higher in participants with more years of formal education.
A new study suggests that firstborns are most likely to be near-sighted.
The findings were published on October 8, Thursday in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.
A new study suggests that eldest child is more likely to develop nearsightedness as compared to their later born siblings. They combined demographic data with behavioral information-one question asked how much time people spent outdoors, for instance-along with a detailed educational history and their ophthalmological past.
Of all the people in the new study, 30 percent were nearsighted, the researchers said.
Myopic is a more scientific term used to describe nearsightedness and it is now a growing concern in the fast-developing countries such as India and China.
The report suggests that spending more time outdoors reduces nearsightedness rates. “The attenuated effect size after adjusting for educational exposure supports a role for reduced parental investment in education of children with later birth orders in their relative protection from myopia”.
When it comes to their firstborn child, parents may invest more effort and time in their education, which means that firstborn children may engage in more activities – excessive reading, working on a computer, or any other activity that might cause visual stress – that increase the risk of myopia.
It’s rather simple: when the first baby comes, a couple feels the parenting instinct kick in, which translates into a desire to provide the best for them.
In present days children also have access to technology that can strain their eyes early on such as iPads, toys, books and others.
Apart from the younger siblings being less at risk for myopia, Guggenheim and the team also kept on the lookout for other influencing factors.
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“To be honest, the relationship with birth order interested us because it seemed a little quirky”, Guggenheim said.
