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"I once wrote an article--hey, it was for Glamour!--about what your birth order says about you. It was all about personality--you know, even as grownups, firstborn children tend to take charge and be protective, while the now-adult baby of the family may be a bit more eager to take risks, and so on. But a new study has introduced a possible new dimension to birth order--one that has nothing to do with personality. A study is suggesting that there may be a relationship between your birth order and allergies. Researchers in Japan discovered that firstborn children are more likely to suffer from allergic rhinitis (hay fever), allergic conjunctivitis (pink eye), or food allergies. And the chance of allergies seems to decrease in each subsequent child--the middle child has fewer allergies than her older sibling, and the youngest even fewer. The results are still considered preliminary (they have to undergo a peer review process) and the researchers are investigating the possible connection further. Hmm--what do you think? Are you the oldest, youngest, or middle child? What allergies do you have? More on allergies: * Bad Allergies? Stress May Be Making Them Worse * Hatchoo! The Top 5 Worst U.S. Cities for Fall Allergies * Health Controversy: Dogs and Cats Are Great, But Would You Live With One Despite Intense Allergies? More Ways to Get Glamour Visit Shopglamour.com for cute stuff starting at just $10! Enter the latest Glamour sweepstakes! Follow us on Twitter Add us to your iGoogle homepage Photo: Thinkstock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2011/03/are-you-the-oldest-middle-or-y>