The benefits of a "glass of water in old age" are shown

Anna Stavina, XX2 century

Sleepless nights and stresses associated with parenting are hardly associated with longevity. However, according to the authors of the new study, children can really add a couple of years of life to their parents. This conclusion was reached by a group of scientists led by Dr. Karin Modig from the Karolinska Institutet, who analyzed the socio-demographic data of 1.5 million Swedish residents.

The results of the study were published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health (Modig et al., Payback time? Influence of having children on mortality in old age).

As the scientists noted, the authors of previous works managed to show that people who have become parents live on average longer than those who do not have children. However, the causes of this phenomenon were unclear. In addition, only a small number of studies have attempted to find out how the relationship between having children and life expectancy changes with age.

To fill in the gaps, scientists led by Dr. Modig decided to use data from the national registry of Sweden. The researchers selected information on 704,481 men and 725,290 women born between 1911 and 1925. The following data were used for the work: the marital status of a person, the number of children and their gender. This information was used to determine how having children affects the life expectancy of people aged 60 and older.

It turned out that the risk of death in adulthood in people who have become parents during their lifetime is lower than in those who do not have children. Researchers found that 60-year-old men who have children lived on average two years longer, and 60–year-old women lived 1.5 years longer compared to people of the same age, but childless. The connection remained even after scientists took into account additional factors, such as the level of education.

The researchers also found that the link between having children and increasing life expectancy becomes more pronounced as we age, especially in men. Interestingly, the effect of childbirth as a way of prolonging life in unmarried and unmarried people was more noticeable than in people who had families. Single men who became fathers were especially lucky in this regard: their risk of death at the age of 85 was 1.2% lower than that of childless men. For married men of the same age, the difference was only 0.6%, for unmarried women -0.9%, and for married women -0.8%. Scientists stressed that older men, in the absence of a partner, can seek help from grown sons and daughters. This may explain the reduced risk of death in single men with children.

The authors of the work failed to find a connection between the sex of children and the life expectancy of elderly parents – although in previous studies there were mentions of this connection. Perhaps the fact is that these works were focused on the social benefits associated with the birth of a daughter.

"On average, women tend to maintain more social connections than men. And childless elderly people, especially men, usually have fewer contacts than older people with children. There is evidence indicating that having an adult daughter increases the chances of regular social contacts and receiving help if needed," the authors explain.

In general, the researchers believe that the work they have done indicates the importance of the role that grown-up children play in the lives of elderly parents. The support provided to older family members may explain the increased life expectancy of the latter. It is important that as we age, the link between having children and reducing the risk of death becomes more pronounced – this may mean that childless people face a lack of social contacts only at the end of life. And it is not necessary, scientists emphasize, to completely exclude the possibility of the influence of other factors. For example, people who became parents could lead a healthier lifestyle than those who decided not to have children.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  14.03.2017