In a new study, researchers found a link between people’s life expectancy and the number of children they have: People with children generally live longer than those without.
Parents with two children even have a small longevity bonus added to their lifespan.
The research was conducted by a team at Max Planck Society and elsewhere.
The team used data on more than four million Swedish women and men born between 1915 and 1960.
They found mothers and fathers generally live longer than the childless.
The effect is particularly pronounced for adoptive parents: Adopting a child adds three years to the lifespan, adopting two or three kids adds five years.
The researchers believe that it is not childbearing and the presence of children as such that play important roles in extending the lifespan of parents.
It is much more likely that parents are better off right from the start than those who will not have children.
Simply put, those who are healthy, financially well off and have a high level of education are more likely to attract a partner, and they also have the resources to start a larger family.
These people then have a mortality advantage right from the onset—the advantage would thus be a prerequisite rather than a consequence of having children.
The mortality of parents who adopted transnationally is particularly low, possibly because tests for such parents apply very high standards to lifestyle, financial resources, and health.
Those passing the test successfully are likely to have a life expectancy that is comparatively high right from the start.
The team also says that parents are healthier because the presence of children induces changes in the lifestyle of their parents.
Mothers and fathers adopt a healthier behavior: They are less likely to have accidents than childless people, and they are also less likely to suffer from the circulatory disease.
This is also true for adoptive parents. Although only those who maintain a healthy and responsible lifestyle are selected into this group, a positive effect on the longevity of the presence of children is evident here, too.
This applies especially to transnational adoption: Life expectancy increases with each child in a group of adoptive parents that had already been strongly selected and includes above all healthy, stable, and well-off people.
The lead author of the study is Kieron Barclay.
The study is published in the European Journal of Population.
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