Women Who Give Birth Late Have Better Chance Of Living Longer

May 5, 2009 by tanya
Filed under: News, Pregnancy

At last - there is some good news for older mothers. Mothers who give birth in their 40s or 50s naturally have been shown to live longer than other women.

Further research have shown that the brothers of women who give birth later and live longer also seem to live longer than average. However, the wives of the brothers’ do not,implying that lifespan and female fertility may been linked by the same genes.

Professor Ken Smith from the University of Utah, who led the study said “If women in your family give birth at older ages, you may well have a chance of living longer than you would otherwise,”

“If you have a female relative who had children after age 45, then there may be some genetic benefit in your family that will enhance your longevity.”

“you may be able to look at the ages when your female ancestors gave birth – rather than just their longevity – in estimating how long you may live,”

The study is due to be published next month in the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences.

Researchers used the genealogical records of 11,604 men from Utah who were born between 1800 and 1869. They also examined records of 6,206 Quebec men living between 1670 and 1750. All men had all had at least one sister who had lived past 50 years of age.

They also looked at the wives of the brothers so that they could rule out any social or environmental reasons for the men to live longer.

The study showed that women who had ‘late’ fertility, and were over 45 years old when they gave birth, had 14 to 17 percent less chance of dying after 50 year-old compared to women who did not have children after 40 years old.

Until brothers were studied, it was unknown whether the women lived longer because of social and environmental factors, such as their lifestyle, or from genetic factors.

Brothers who had a ‘late’ fertility sister were found to have 20 to 22 percent more chances of living after the age of 50. It also showed that the same genes may control female fertility and lifespan of both sexes.

Other studies have shown that women who have the menopause late may also have prolonged fertility and more chances of living lonver.

Smith has carried out previous studies, including one which showed that having more children reduces the parent’s lifespan. He said that the findings of both do not conflict one another.