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According to a new, massive study, the age of a sibling can affect health later in life.
Researchers from Columbia University and the University of Chicago analyzed medical data collected from 10,000,000 U.S. sibling siblings for two decades. They found that there may be a link between birth order and specific health risks.
Researchers examined 569 categories of disease across families, and found 150 that had a significant relationship with the birth order.
LONGER LIFE, BAD HEALTH? Scientists Discover a Troublesome Trend Across Generations
The first-born child showed an increased likelihood of receiving neurodevelopmental or psychiatric diagnosis, such as autism, ADHD and Tourette’s syndrome, and immune-allergic disorders like food allergies.
Statistics show that second-borns are more likely to suffer from migraines, shingles and substance abuse disorders. They also have a higher risk of gastrointestinal problems like gastritis.
While discussing the results on Fox & Friends, Dr. Marc Siegel (senior medical analyst at Fox News) noted the importance of such a large-scale research.
The doctor stated, “I like this study as it raises more questions than answers. But I do think I know some of the answers.”
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Siegel’s own theory about parenting behavior was offered in response to the increased prevalence of ADHD with first-borns.
My theory is that they are getting more stimulation. He said that the parents hover over their children, like helicopters. “They don’t even know what to do,” he added.
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Siegel, in addressing the disparity between allergic conditions and the early exposure to the environment, said, “I believe it is because the immune system of the firstborn has not seen the environmental before.” If it is not properly set, then you will get an allergic reaction.
Siegel also discussed biological and psychological aspects when evaluating the differences between sibling.
I think that the womb is different after the first pregnancy, so the second baby will have a used womb. He said that the womb is more prepared for it because it has already been used.
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Siegel, in a response to the increased rate of substance abuse disorders among children born second, suggested that emotional factors may also be at play. “It could all come down to the same thing: I want attention. I’m looking for attention. “I want to do something that will make you laugh.
The study has some limitations, even though it highlights trends across a wide population.
These findings show correlations, not direct causality, which means that the trends aren’t always due to physiological changes, early microbe exposures, or social dynamics.
The data also relies heavily on the commercial health insurance claims which may reflect different diagnoses, differences in healthcare seeking behavior, and parental attention, rather than just true biological functions.
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These associations are also complicated by factors such as age differences between parents and siblings. Researchers concluded that birth order is a risk indicator at the population level, rather than an accurate health predictor.
Nature Health published the research.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) data show that the United States has seen the highest number of measles outbreaks in the past three decades, as the disease spread across multiple states.
Mid-July saw the total surpass 2025 which was the worst year of recent times with over 2,200 cases confirmed. The U.S. is at risk of losing the official status it holds since 2000, that has been attributed to them for eliminating measles.
The measles virus is highly contagious. It can sometimes cause serious infections of the brain and lungs that may lead to deafness, cognitive problems, or even death. Vaccination is a safe, highly effective and medically proven way to prevent it.
CBS News’ data team tracked measles confirmed cases across the country as state health departments released new data.
More than 750 of the 2,289 cases confirmed last year were linked to an outbreak that occurred in West Texas and led to two deaths.
Before 2025, prior to 2019, the most recent year with the largest number of confirmed cases was 2019. This was driven by outbreaks occurring in New York State, California, and Washington. The total number of cases was usually much lower.
Experts in health care point out that the increase of infectious diseases such as measles is primarily due to decreased vaccination rates. Most cases are in unvaccinated people, and the outbreaks spread to communities that have lower vaccination rates.
CDC data show that approximately 93% of U.S. kindergarteners were vaccinated for measles in 2021-2022 and only 92.7% during 2023-2024. It is down from the 95.2% in the school year 2019-2020 — an important threshold for keeping people safe. This threshold was only reached by 10 states.
The CDC says that “when more than 95 percent of the people living in a given community have been vaccinated,” they are most likely to be protected by herd immunity.
On “Face the Nation With Margaret Brennan”, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya of the National Institutes of Health said, “I believe that it is very important for parents to vaccinate children, particularly for the measles, the DTP and all the childhood standard vaccines.”

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New research indicates that DNA patterns can reveal the progression of certain blood cancers years before standard tests are able to detect these changes.
The American Association for Cancer Research published a study in Cancer Discovery that followed 30 patients with MPNs, a type of blood cancer in which bone marrow makes too many cells.
The researchers monitored the DNA of patients’ bone marrow and blood for changes in genetic code, then looked at whether these changes are associated with stable disease, blood counts or progress to acute leukemia or myelofibrosis.
A MAN WHO BEAT A RARE CANCER CELEBRATES WITH HIS DOG BY CANOING 2,000 MILES
They found that people who were stable had DNA with no cancer-related mutations. According to researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, a “quiet genetic MPN” is more stable.
According to a study, patients whose diseases worsened showed often DNA changes before routine blood testing detected progress as new groups abnormal cells appeared and grew.
The disease progression of nine participants was different.
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Some MPN cells mutated slowly, while in other cases, leukemia was thought to have developed from an abnormal group of blood cells. Myelofibrosis patients also showed similar differences.
Researchers also discovered that the DNA patterns of blood cells left by hydroxyurea (a medication commonly used for controlling blood counts among people suffering from MPN) were recognizable. However, there was no proof that this drug caused leukemia. The same pattern has been linked with azacitidine (a drug that is used to treat blood cancers).
Researchers found that three participants were “triple negative” for essential thrombocythemia. This condition is generally categorized as blood cancer. However, researchers did not find any genetic evidence of cancer.
This finding suggests that certain patients who receive this diagnosis might not be suffering from malignant cancer and therefore not require long-term treatment.
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This study is limited due to its small sample, which only shows associations and not cause-and-effect.
Abhishek Chlkulwar of Orlando Health noted in an interview with Fox News Digital that people who have MPNs are able to live with the disease “for many decades.”
A doctor who wasn’t involved with the study called the results “a striking demonstration” of how DNA changes can signal cancer development a decade in advance. He also said that the future course may be “already ‘written’ into a patient’s cells before doctors are able to see any external signs.”
He said: “More generally, this is an early example what could eventually become precision medicine in blood cancer prevention. It uses a patient’s genetic data to determine risk years before the disease progresses, and then intervenes someday prior to its progression, rather than treating it only after it has occurred.”
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This is the direction that this type of research points, even though there are not yet the necessary tools in place to take action.
Chilkulwar said that the results indicate that retesting DNA periodically over time can give doctors “a heads-up” if a disease’s direction is dangerous, before it appears in blood tests.
He said that the real use in the short term is closer monitoring and not a new treatment. If a patient is found to be carrying a mutation with heightened risk, they may need to undergo more frequent tests, including blood counts, and if necessary, bone marrow examinations. If progression occurs, the disease is caught sooner.
The doctor warned that a single mutation could cause serious problems in the future.
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Chilkulwar explained that the next step would be to pair early genetic detection and drugs targeting these specific mutations. This could prevent or delay disease progression.

After doctors misdiagnosed her symptoms, a UK girl was diagnosed with aggressive childhood cancer.
Armaie burrows-Pitt was experiencing severe fatigue and loss of appetite in Devon, England in May.
Her mom Nikki, and her stepfather Andy were reassured by her general practitioners that it was tonsillitis. They prescribed antibiotics for her to get rid of it. She was then “perfectly healthy.”
When Armaie’s condition did not improve, Nikki took her to Warwick Hospital, also known as Melly to the family, and ordered a blood sample.
The doctors performed further tests to determine if she was suffering from tuberculosis, sepsis or a virus contracted during a February family holiday in Egypt.
After 15 days, doctors at Birmingham Children’s Hospital diagnosed Burkitt Lymphoma, a rare, aggressive childhood cancer.
Nikki is a mother of two and a 38-year-old woman. She said, “We were all concerned when we went to Devon in May as she could be seen going downhill.
She was too tired to play. She’d go to a corner in the park.
It all began at the end May. On May 31, my mother took her to Warwick A&E.
She didn’t even want to eat, or walk. All she wanted was to lay down.
She was told that it was a virus at Warwick. I then took her to a GP (general practitioner) on 2 June and they told me she had tonsillitis.
The doctor told me that she was healthy and fit, but she is a very active and fit young girl. She’s always full of energy.
Then, I brought her back to Warwick where she was told that it was still tonsillitis and was to take the antibiotics. But we knew there was more.
Nikki knew Armaie was not just sick with a viral, as she had been virtually confined to bed and Armaie could barely eat.
When she started to complain about pains in both her shins and groin, she thought it might have been an injury from gymnastics.
Nikki continued: “We went back to Warwick, on the 10th of June. I told her: ‘I won’t leave until you take a blood sample’.
They admitted her. The doctors thought she had sepsis or TB. They also suspected an infection that we brought back from Egypt in February.
Birmingham Children’s Hospital was leading Warwick as they believed it to be a serious case before moving her there.
After initially thinking it was an illness, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Burkitt Lymphoma on July 3.
The Burkitt Lymphoma, a fast-growing non-Hodgkin type of lymphoma which starts with white blood cells – specifically B-cells – is rare.
Cancers that are aggressive, and which affect mainly children, multiply quickly, before they spread throughout the body.
Armaie has reached Stage 4, with her disease spreading to the spleen and liver, as well as bone marrow.
Nikki said, “It’s been very stressful having to keep your child in the hospital for so many weeks without knowing exactly what was wrong.”
It was frustrating that every doctor I visited said she was fine.
She’s never visited a hospital or seen a physician in her lifetime. I knew that she was wrong.
She had many symptoms, but they didn’t all necessarily indicate lymphoma.
It’s frustrating when you’re told that she is fine, but she isn’t.
She wouldn’t leave her bed. She didn’t want eat, drink or walk. It’s not typical for an active and fit child to feel completely exhausted.
It is very frustrating when children with similar symptoms are dismissed.
It was heartbreaking to wait three or four months for a diagnosis. You’d have thought they’d rule out the worst-case scenario.
The first symptom in the hospital was neck pain, which led them to believe it was meningitis.
Then, she complained of pains in her leg and groin. I guessed it was her gymnastics because she’d had an injury a few weeks earlier.
The symptoms came and went. “When they said it was tonsillitis, I wondered if there was anything more serious.”
The family is now raising money to pay for Armaie’s chemotherapy treatment, which will last six months.
Emma Whyte (36), her aunt, said: “The goal is to have Melly go on many trips in the coming year. We’ve cancelled a number of holidays due to this.
She wants to visit Disney World Florida, and Lapland.
We also wish to thank Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House and the Birmingham Children’s Hospital for their hard work.
It would be great to return the favor to her stepdad and to her mother.
I thought $675 was the goal but it’s almost $12,150.
In a weird way, this has brought us together at the worst possible time.

Seniors, listen up.
According to a new study, how you do on a balance test can give you clues as to how you are aging and your odds of surviving the next seven year.
The researchers found that the older adults with the highest scores on the assessment, which was free and conducted at home, were half as likely as the others to die in the following period.
In Taiwan, the study included more than 13,000 adults aged 65 or older who live in a community. About 62.5% were female.
Participants took part in a set of standard tests to measure four aspects of fitness: flexibility, strength of muscles, endurance of heart and lungs, and balance.
Researchers then tracked the participants over an average period of seven years. In that period, around 12% — 1,631 — of the participants died.
Researchers compared participants’ scores and found that those with the highest fitness levels were half as likely as the others to die in the following period, after taking into account factors such as age, gender, weight, preexisting diseases, etc.
Not all tests are equally accurate.
8-foot up-and-go
This test measures balance and agility. The participants stood, then walked around the cone eight times. They returned to their chairs and sat down again.
The mortality rate of those with the highest scores was 59% less than that of those with the lowest.
Balance on one leg
A simpler balance and agility test required participants to stand with one leg on the floor, eyes wide open for 30 seconds. Top scorers were at about half as likely to die than those who scored the lowest.
Standing or sitting
Researchers also measured lower body strength by counting the number of times that participants were able to stand from a seat and then sit down again in just 30 seconds with their arms crossing over their chests.
The risk of death for those who could manage the most chairstands was 45% less than that of the least able.
Test your two-minute walk
Next came heart and lung endurance. The participants performed a 2-minute step test by repeatedly raising their knees up to a predetermined height. The number of steps completed was used to determine their score.
Again, there was a significant difference, as better scores were associated with 58% less mortality.
Test of back-scratch
The researchers were thrown a curveball by flexibility.
The participants performed a “back-scratch” test to measure the distance between their fingertips. They raised one hand behind their back and brought the other up. Researchers measured how much space or overlap there was between their middle fingertips.
Seniors also did a sit and reach test in a chair, extending both fingers to the toes on one leg extended while maintaining the heel of the leg still on the ground.
The team also found that, while being extremely stiff was linked to higher mortality rates, flexibility beyond a functional, moderate range of movement did not appear to have any additional benefit when it comes to living longer.
Total
Researchers combined scores of all fitness tests and found that participants who scored in the top 20 percent had a mortality rate 61% less than the people in the lower 20%.
When it comes to a longer life, certain fitness factors are more important than others for different genders.
Balance and agility were the most strongly associated with reduced mortality among men. This was followed by fitness of heart and lungs. Women’s lower body strength seemed to be just as important as their balance and agility.
Researchers suggested this might be due to a higher incidence of osteoporosis in older women. This condition causes the bones to become weak and thin, and is more likely to break. It highlights the need for maintaining mobility and strength in the legs as we age.
Everyday Health reported that “Physical Fitness reflects the way multiple body systems interact,” said Dr. Li Lin Liang. He is a co-author of the study and a researcher at the Institute of Public Health at the College of Medicine at the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan.
It captures cumulative effects from habitual activities, illnesses, and biological ageing. It is more important to look at a person’s functional capacity and their physiological reserves than the number of diagnoses.
What is the point?
Daily tasks like bathing, dressing up, eating, and walking may become harder as physical ability declines. The loss of strength and balance increases the dangers associated with dangerous falls, which can threaten both safety and independence.
Falling is the most common cause of injury and death among adults 65 years and older in the US.
Researchers said that the fitness tests they used could provide doctors with a snapshot of the body’s ability to age.
The researchers suggested that similar tests be included in routine health checkups to help identify people who are at greater physical risk and encourage them to do targeted exercises for improving balance, agility and strength.