Men and women who have at least one child have a “lower risk of death” compared to non-parents, according to a study of nearly 1.5 million subjects, published Tuesday
Fathers are better off in this regard, says the Swedish team of scientists in the “Journal of Epidemiology Community Health”, informs AFP.
The researchers studied the life expectancy of men and women born between 1911 and 1925 in Sweden – a total of over 1.4 million people – taking into account factors such as marital status and the presence of children.
“At age 60, the difference in life expectancy was two years for men and 1.5 years for women,” compared to their peers who had no children, the researchers noted.
Until the age of 80, men who were parents had, on average, a life expectancy of another seven years and eight months compared to seven years for those who were not parents, says the team of experts.
In the case of mothers, life expectancy at age 80 was nine years and six months, while in women without children it was eight years and eleven months.
Dr Karin Modig of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, who led the research, said that “parenting is associated with an increase in longevity, especially in old age,” according to The Telegraph.
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The study only highlighted a correlation and cannot conclude that having children brings a gain in life expectancy, the scientists said, adding that parents can benefit from the social and financial help of their children to old age, which people without children are deprived of.
In plus, Individuals without children tend to have a less healthy lifestyle than those who are parents, the quoted source also shows.
The association between parental status and longer life expectancy was observed in both married and unmarried people, but it seems to be more pronounced in single, elderly men, the study’s findings state. This may be due to the fact that unmarried men rely more on supporting their children in the absence of a life partner.
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