Women Who Naturally Give Birth Later in Life May Live Longer

There may be a way to tell if one woman will live longer than another. Scientists have found that women who are naturally able to have children later in life tend to live longer. In fact, the genetic variants that allow them to do so might also facilitate exceptionally long lifespans.

In order to better understand how the ability to have children later in life might impact a woman's longevity, the researchers analyzed data from the Long Life Family Study. This study included 551 families with many members living to exceptionally old ages. The scientists found out the ages at which 462 women had their last child and then found out how old these women lived to be. In the end, they found that women who had their last child after the age of 33 were twice as likely to live to 95 years or older compared with women who had their last child by the age of 29.

"Of course this does not mean women should wait to have children at older ages in order to improve their own chances of living longer," said Thomas Perls, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The age at last childbirth can be a rate of aging indicator. The natural ability to have a child at an older age likely indicates that a woman's reproductive system is aging slowly, and therefore so is the rest of her body."

The findings reveal the strong influence of genetics when it comes to longevity. More specifically, they indicate that women may be the driving force behind the evolution of genetic variants that slow aging and decrease risk for age-related genes, since a longer-living woman may be more likely to pass on her genetics to the next generation. The findings are actually consistent with previous studies that show the relationship between maternal age at birth of the last child and exceptional longevity.

The findings are published in The Journal of the North American Menopause Society.