Firstborn children at higher risk of heart disease

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Firstborn children at higher risk of heart disease

NEW YORK, Apr 26 (Reuters Health) - Italian researchers report that

firstborn children have a higher risk of heart disease and a higher risk

of cardiovascular death than their siblings.

Dr. Maurizio Ferratini of the Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi in Milan

presented his team's findings Wednesday at the American Heart

Association's Asia Pacific Scientific Forum in Honolulu, Hawaii. In the

study of 348 coronary heart disease patients admitted to their

institution during a 30-month period, nearly half (46.7%) of the

patients were firstborn, Ferratini reported. In contrast, about 29.3% of

the population of Italy in general are firstborn, as opposed to being

somewhere else in the sibling lineup.

There was no difference between the firstborn and other siblings with

regard to cardiovascular risk factors, such as age, gender, family

history of coronary heart disease, cigarette smoking, diabetes and high

blood pressure. In fact, Ferratini noted, the firstborn had a lower

incidence of smoking than their siblings.

Being firstborn carried a 27% increase in risk of cardiovascular death

compared with other children in the birth order, Ferratini told Reuters

Health.

" We know that firstborns are different from their siblings in health,

behavior, psychology, school achievement and personality, " Ferratini

said. " These differences may influence other health factors.... For

example, more firstborn have type A personalities...this may influence

risk of heart disease. "

He pointed out that this personality trait has been linked to coronary

heart disease and an increased risk of cardiovascular death.