OK! Exclusive: Dannielynn's Eye Condition Is Genetic

The eye condition suffered by Dannielynn, daughter of the late Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead, is the result of a genetic condition common in Anna’s family, OK! has learned exclusively. Her stabismus is not a symptom of drug use during Anna Nicole’s pregnancy.

“I can confirm that it is hereditary on our father’s side of the family,” Anna’s half-sister Donna Hogan tells OK! Hogan goes on to say that all of Donald Hogan’s kids — not just Anna — have passed along the disorder to their own children. And dad Larry confirms the news about his 16-month-old daughter to OK! as well: “All the doctors told me that it was more than likely genetic.”

Hogan’s 14-year-old daughter Kayla also has strabismus, an eye disorder also known as "cross-eyed" and often confused with a condition known as “lazy eye,” and will soon undergo corrective surgery to cure the condition.

As for the incorrect assumption many have made that Dannielynn’s eye condition was linked to her mom’s drug use, Hogan says she understands. “That’s the first thing that goes through your mind. But as someone who knows the family history and saw the signs right away in Dannielynn, of course I knew what was going on.”

By Ryan Smith