Genes or Healthy Living: You Be the Judge

In an article, Good Genes: Late Motherhood Boosts Family Lifespan, research has found that women who give birth to a child in their 40s or 50s live longer than women who either don’t have children or have children earlier in life.  Furthermore, these older mothers’ brothers also seem to live longer.  The study went on to examine these brother’s wives but found that they didn’t experience the lengthened lifespan indicating that there may be genetic traits rather than environmental factors.

Genes for Longevity

There are many reasons why these mothers and their brothers seem to live longer.  It’s a possibility that they have the longevity gene already and the factor of them becoming mothers later in life doesn’t really have an effect.  This means that it’s just a coincidence.  It would also explain why the brothers but not their wives also reap the benefits of living longer.

Healthy Lifestyle Increases Longevity

Another hypothesis is that a women who waits until their 40s or 50s to have a child (without any fertility issues) probably did so to work on their career.  This could also mean that these women not only take care of themselves professionally but personally by living a healthier lifestyle.  This healthy lifestyle may be what helps their longevity.

Combination of Genes and Healthy Living

Just as with the great debate of nature vs. nurture, these findings may be due to both genetic traits and healthy living.  Many women who take care of themselves professionally and/or personally do so because they either are following their parent’s guidance or are trying to do better than their parents did.  The same goes for these women’s brothers coming from the same family.  Furthermore, genes play a role in that they may not have mutations for life threatening diseases such as heart disease.  With both of these factors working together, it may explain the longer lifespan not the actual act of becoming a mother later in life.

(Photo Credit: juhansonin on Flickr)

May 14th, 2009 by Marcelina Hardy | Posted in Genetics and Society | (1)