Birth order and myopia

Jeremy A. Guggenheim; George McMahon; Kate Northstone; Yossi Mandel; Igor Kaiserman; Richard A. Stone; Xiaoyu Lin; Seang Mei Saw; Hannah Forward; David A. Mackey; Seyhan Yazar; Terri L. Young; Cathy Williams

doi:10.3109/09286586.2013.848457

Birth order and myopia

Jeremy A. Guggenheim, George McMahon, Kate Northstone, Yossi Mandel, Igor Kaiserman, Richard A. Stone, Xiaoyu Lin, Seang Mei Saw, Hannah Forward, David A. Mackey, Seyhan Yazar, Terri L. Young, Cathy Williams

School of Optometry and Vision Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: An association between birth order and reduced unaided vision (a surrogate for myopia) has been observed previously. We examined the association between birth order and myopia directly in four subject groups. Methods: Subject groups were participants in (1) the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; UK; age 15 years; N=4401), (2) the Singapore Cohort Study of Risk Factors for Myopia (SCORM; Singapore; age 13 years; N=1959), (3) the Raine Eye Health Study (REHS; Australia; age 20 years; N=1344), and (4) Israeli Defense Force Pre-recruitment Candidates (IDFC; Israel; age 16-22 years; N=888,277). The main outcome was odds ratios (OR) for myopia in first-born versus non-first-born individuals after adjusting for potential risk factors. Results: The prevalence of myopia was numerically higher in first-born versus non-first-born individuals in all study groups, but the strength of evidence varied widely. Adjusted ORs (95% confidence intervals, CIs) were: ALSPAC, 1.31 (1.05-1.64); SCORM, 1.25 (0.89-1.77); REHS, 1.18 (0.90-1.55); and IDFC, 1.04 (1.03-1.06). In the large IDFC sample, the effect size was greater (a) for the first-born versus fourth- or higher-born comparison than for the first-born versus second/third-born comparison (p<0.001) and (b) with increasing myopia severity (p<0.001). Conclusions: Across all studies, the increased risk of myopia in first-born individuals was low (OR<1.3). Indeed, only the studies with >4000 participants provided strong statistical support for the association. The available evidence suggested the relationship was independent of established risk factors such as time outdoors/reading, and thus may arise through a different causal mechanism.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	375-384
Number of pages	10
Journal	Ophthalmic Epidemiology
Volume	20
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3109/09286586.2013.848457
State	Published - Dec 2013

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding and support was provided by the UK Medical Research Council [Grant ref: 74882] the Wellcome Trust [Grant ref: 076467] and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. The Raine Eye Health Study was funded by the Australian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness, The Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia (ORIA) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC Grant ref: 1021105). The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study core funding is provided by The University of Western Australia (UWA), The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Raine Medical Research Foundation, UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, Women’s and Infant’s Research Foundation, Curtin University, NHMRC. This work was specifically funded [Grant: SCIAD 053] by the National Eye Research Centre, Bristol (JAG, CW), a National Institute for Health Research career development fellowship (CW), National Institutes of Health [Grant: R01-EY018838] (RAS), the Paul and Evanina Bell Mackall Foundation Trust (RAS), Research to Prevent Blindness (RAS), and Singapore National Medical Research Council [Grant: NMRC/0695/2003] (SMS).

Funding

Funding and support was provided by the UK Medical Research Council [Grant ref: 74882] the Wellcome Trust [Grant ref: 076467] and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. The Raine Eye Health Study was funded by the Australian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness, The Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia (ORIA) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC Grant ref: 1021105). The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study core funding is provided by The University of Western Australia (UWA), The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Raine Medical Research Foundation, UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, Women’s and Infant’s Research Foundation, Curtin University, NHMRC. This work was specifically funded [Grant: SCIAD 053] by the National Eye Research Centre, Bristol (JAG, CW), a National Institute for Health Research career development fellowship (CW), National Institutes of Health [Grant: R01-EY018838] (RAS), the Paul and Evanina Bell Mackall Foundation Trust (RAS), Research to Prevent Blindness (RAS), and Singapore National Medical Research Council [Grant: NMRC/0695/2003] (SMS).

Funders	Funder number
Australian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness
National Institute for Health Research career development fellowship
Singapore National Medical Research Council	NMRC/0695/2003
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
UK Medical Research Council	74882
UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, Women’s and Infant’s Research Foundation
National Institutes of Health
National Eye Institute	R01EY018838
Research to Prevent Blindness
Paul MacKall and Evanina Bell MacKall Trust
Wellcome Trust	076467
National Eye Research Centre
University of Bristol
National Health and Medical Research Council	1021105
Raine Medical Research Foundation
Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia
Curtin University of Technology	SCIAD 053
University of Western Australia

Keywords

Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
Birth order
Myopia
Raine Eye Health Study
Refractive error
Singapore Cohort Study of Risk Factors for Myopia

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10.3109/09286586.2013.848457

Cite this

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title = "Birth order and myopia",

abstract = "Purpose: An association between birth order and reduced unaided vision (a surrogate for myopia) has been observed previously. We examined the association between birth order and myopia directly in four subject groups. Methods: Subject groups were participants in (1) the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; UK; age 15 years; N=4401), (2) the Singapore Cohort Study of Risk Factors for Myopia (SCORM; Singapore; age 13 years; N=1959), (3) the Raine Eye Health Study (REHS; Australia; age 20 years; N=1344), and (4) Israeli Defense Force Pre-recruitment Candidates (IDFC; Israel; age 16-22 years; N=888,277). The main outcome was odds ratios (OR) for myopia in first-born versus non-first-born individuals after adjusting for potential risk factors. Results: The prevalence of myopia was numerically higher in first-born versus non-first-born individuals in all study groups, but the strength of evidence varied widely. Adjusted ORs (95% confidence intervals, CIs) were: ALSPAC, 1.31 (1.05-1.64); SCORM, 1.25 (0.89-1.77); REHS, 1.18 (0.90-1.55); and IDFC, 1.04 (1.03-1.06). In the large IDFC sample, the effect size was greater (a) for the first-born versus fourth- or higher-born comparison than for the first-born versus second/third-born comparison (p<0.001) and (b) with increasing myopia severity (p<0.001). Conclusions: Across all studies, the increased risk of myopia in first-born individuals was low (OR<1.3). Indeed, only the studies with >4000 participants provided strong statistical support for the association. The available evidence suggested the relationship was independent of established risk factors such as time outdoors/reading, and thus may arise through a different causal mechanism.",

keywords = "Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, Birth order, Myopia, Raine Eye Health Study, Refractive error, Singapore Cohort Study of Risk Factors for Myopia",

author = "Guggenheim, {Jeremy A.} and George McMahon and Kate Northstone and Yossi Mandel and Igor Kaiserman and Stone, {Richard A.} and Xiaoyu Lin and Saw, {Seang Mei} and Hannah Forward and Mackey, {David A.} and Seyhan Yazar and Young, {Terri L.} and Cathy Williams",

note = "Funding Information: Funding and support was provided by the UK Medical Research Council [Grant ref: 74882] the Wellcome Trust [Grant ref: 076467] and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. The Raine Eye Health Study was funded by the Australian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness, The Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia (ORIA) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC Grant ref: 1021105). The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study core funding is provided by The University of Western Australia (UWA), The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Raine Medical Research Foundation, UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, Women{\textquoteright}s and Infant{\textquoteright}s Research Foundation, Curtin University, NHMRC. This work was specifically funded [Grant: SCIAD 053] by the National Eye Research Centre, Bristol (JAG, CW), a National Institute for Health Research career development fellowship (CW), National Institutes of Health [Grant: R01-EY018838] (RAS), the Paul and Evanina Bell Mackall Foundation Trust (RAS), Research to Prevent Blindness (RAS), and Singapore National Medical Research Council [Grant: NMRC/0695/2003] (SMS).",

year = "2013",

month = dec,

doi = "10.3109/09286586.2013.848457",

language = "אנגלית",

volume = "20",

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journal = "Ophthalmic Epidemiology",

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AU - Guggenheim, Jeremy A.

AU - McMahon, George

AU - Northstone, Kate

AU - Mandel, Yossi

AU - Kaiserman, Igor

AU - Stone, Richard A.

AU - Lin, Xiaoyu

AU - Saw, Seang Mei

AU - Forward, Hannah

AU - Mackey, David A.

AU - Yazar, Seyhan

AU - Young, Terri L.

AU - Williams, Cathy

N1 - Funding Information: Funding and support was provided by the UK Medical Research Council [Grant ref: 74882] the Wellcome Trust [Grant ref: 076467] and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. The Raine Eye Health Study was funded by the Australian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness, The Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia (ORIA) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC Grant ref: 1021105). The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study core funding is provided by The University of Western Australia (UWA), The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Raine Medical Research Foundation, UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, Women’s and Infant’s Research Foundation, Curtin University, NHMRC. This work was specifically funded [Grant: SCIAD 053] by the National Eye Research Centre, Bristol (JAG, CW), a National Institute for Health Research career development fellowship (CW), National Institutes of Health [Grant: R01-EY018838] (RAS), the Paul and Evanina Bell Mackall Foundation Trust (RAS), Research to Prevent Blindness (RAS), and Singapore National Medical Research Council [Grant: NMRC/0695/2003] (SMS).

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N2 - Purpose: An association between birth order and reduced unaided vision (a surrogate for myopia) has been observed previously. We examined the association between birth order and myopia directly in four subject groups. Methods: Subject groups were participants in (1) the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; UK; age 15 years; N=4401), (2) the Singapore Cohort Study of Risk Factors for Myopia (SCORM; Singapore; age 13 years; N=1959), (3) the Raine Eye Health Study (REHS; Australia; age 20 years; N=1344), and (4) Israeli Defense Force Pre-recruitment Candidates (IDFC; Israel; age 16-22 years; N=888,277). The main outcome was odds ratios (OR) for myopia in first-born versus non-first-born individuals after adjusting for potential risk factors. Results: The prevalence of myopia was numerically higher in first-born versus non-first-born individuals in all study groups, but the strength of evidence varied widely. Adjusted ORs (95% confidence intervals, CIs) were: ALSPAC, 1.31 (1.05-1.64); SCORM, 1.25 (0.89-1.77); REHS, 1.18 (0.90-1.55); and IDFC, 1.04 (1.03-1.06). In the large IDFC sample, the effect size was greater (a) for the first-born versus fourth- or higher-born comparison than for the first-born versus second/third-born comparison (p<0.001) and (b) with increasing myopia severity (p<0.001). Conclusions: Across all studies, the increased risk of myopia in first-born individuals was low (OR<1.3). Indeed, only the studies with >4000 participants provided strong statistical support for the association. The available evidence suggested the relationship was independent of established risk factors such as time outdoors/reading, and thus may arise through a different causal mechanism.

AB - Purpose: An association between birth order and reduced unaided vision (a surrogate for myopia) has been observed previously. We examined the association between birth order and myopia directly in four subject groups. Methods: Subject groups were participants in (1) the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; UK; age 15 years; N=4401), (2) the Singapore Cohort Study of Risk Factors for Myopia (SCORM; Singapore; age 13 years; N=1959), (3) the Raine Eye Health Study (REHS; Australia; age 20 years; N=1344), and (4) Israeli Defense Force Pre-recruitment Candidates (IDFC; Israel; age 16-22 years; N=888,277). The main outcome was odds ratios (OR) for myopia in first-born versus non-first-born individuals after adjusting for potential risk factors. Results: The prevalence of myopia was numerically higher in first-born versus non-first-born individuals in all study groups, but the strength of evidence varied widely. Adjusted ORs (95% confidence intervals, CIs) were: ALSPAC, 1.31 (1.05-1.64); SCORM, 1.25 (0.89-1.77); REHS, 1.18 (0.90-1.55); and IDFC, 1.04 (1.03-1.06). In the large IDFC sample, the effect size was greater (a) for the first-born versus fourth- or higher-born comparison than for the first-born versus second/third-born comparison (p<0.001) and (b) with increasing myopia severity (p<0.001). Conclusions: Across all studies, the increased risk of myopia in first-born individuals was low (OR<1.3). Indeed, only the studies with >4000 participants provided strong statistical support for the association. The available evidence suggested the relationship was independent of established risk factors such as time outdoors/reading, and thus may arise through a different causal mechanism.

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Birth order and myopia

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

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