And it could be because parents force them to hit the books, while they may be more lenient with subsequent children.
A new study says that firstborn children in a family are more likely to develop nearsightedness than younger siblings, and parents could be to blame for pushing their eldest children to work harder on their academics.
Researchers are reporting that firstborn children are 10% more likely to be myopic than their younger siblings, and 20% more likely to be classified as severely nearsighted, according to research, published in the JAMA Ophtalmology Journal.
The study reveals that firstborns are more likely to come under parental pressure to be academically successful, which may have them spending more time looking at computer or phone screens and books. The study set out to test the link between birth order and myopia, and it revealed that this statistic could come from the fact that firstborns have a tendency to spend a longer time in full-time education than later-born siblings.
There’s Been A Steady Increase in the Incidence of Myopia
Spending too much time using your near sight, like reading, is a risk factor for myopia, and it’s increasingly prevalent in younger generations in many parts of the world, according to the data. The results of the study could explain why people from more studious cultures are more prone to nearsightedness as indicated by studies that found a significant rise in myopia incidence in Asian countries.
The Connection Exists, But There Could Be Other Factors At Play
The researchers go on to say that greater educational exposure in earlier-born children may put them at a higher risk for myopiagenic environments, or factors that cause the ailment.
Short sightedness is not a new phenomenon, they note, and the cause of the birth order-myopia association is widespread and has been in existence for several decades. Still, the UK based researchers acknowledge the association is not too significant in their region, though it is much greater in Asia, which leads them to suggest that there could be more environmental factors at play. In some parts of Asia, the rate of myopia has even reached 90%, while the rest of the world has seen increases in numbers between 20% and 50%.
