Oldest Child at Risk for Brain Tumor

Ivanhoe Newswire
Tuesday, December 12, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If you are the oldest of a large family, you may be at higher risk of developing a brain tumor. New research reveals being the oldest sibling is more strongly linked to brain tumors than other established risk factors.

Researchers in Sweden analyzed 13,613 brain tumor cases. They report people with four or more siblings were twice as likely to develop a brain tumor as people with no siblings. Researchers also report a two- to four-fold increase in brain tumor rates among children younger than 15 who had three or more younger sibling compared to children of the same age who had no siblings.

This study suggests infections of some sort may be causing the disease, according to study authors. The fact that children with younger siblings -- and not older siblings -- are at higher risk suggests infections or re-infections in late childhood could play a role in the development of brain tumors. Children with older siblings -- a group without an increased risk of brain tumors -- are more likely to be exposed to these infections earlier, which may protect them later.

Study authors write more studies need to be done to identify which infections may be causing brain tumors.

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SOURCE: NEUROLOGY, 2006;67:1979-1983