diff --git a/src/pointer-analysis/value_set_dereference.cpp b/src/pointer-analysis/value_set_dereference.cpp
index b79b2f926ee..e8f0c8f159d 100644
--- a/src/pointer-analysis/value_set_dereference.cpp
+++ b/src/pointer-analysis/value_set_dereference.cpp
@@ -280,6 +280,13 @@ bool value_set_dereferencet::dereference_type_compare(
          to_struct_type(ot_base)))
       return true; // ok, dt is a prefix of ot
   }
+
+  if(ot_base.id()==ID_struct)
+  {
+    const auto& otcomp = to_struct_type(ot_base).components();
+    if(otcomp.size()!=0 && dereference_type_compare(otcomp[0].type(),dereference_type))
+      return true; // dt is a prefix (specifically the first field) of ot
+  }
   
   // we are generous about code pointers
   if(dereference_type.id()==ID_code &&