Study: Older Moms live longer than younger Moms

A new study claims that older moms actually live longer than younger moms. Mothers who naturally give birth to children at an older age can double their chances of living to a ripe old age.

Researchers have found that women who give birth to a child when they are over the age of 33 actually are twice as likely to live to an old age than women who give birth at the age of 29 or younger.

Mothers between the ages of 33 to 37 are most likely to live longer, and are  2.08 times more likely to outlive 95 percent of their female peers born the same year. Mothers who give birth after the age of 37 are only 1.92 times as likely.

The large “Long Life Family Study” looked at 4,875 people from 551 families in the United States and in Denmark. Between the years 2006 and 2008, the study focused on siblings who lived to be exceptionally old.

Using the data from the Long Life Family Study, this current study looked specifically at women who had at least one child. Researchers then split the data into two groups. The first group was comprised of 311 women who survived longer than 95 percent of their peers, while the second group focused on 151 women age 70 and over who did not live longer than 95 percent of their peers.

Researchers are not exactly sure why older moms live longer, but some evidence suggests that women who are in good health will also be able to conceive at older ages. The fact that they are able to conceive at an older age indicates that they have naturally good genes when it comes to longevity.

The study also found that the children of women who give birth at older ages also live to be longer, mostly because they inherit the longevity genes from their moms.

However, studies have also shown that women who have babies when they are older (in their 40′s) can have miscarriages or can have babies with birth defects.  There should not necessarily be a problem if a woman conceives between the ages of 33 and 37, as the study suggests.

Source: LA Times, West Side Story