Have kids, live longer?

Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling File this one under “Interesting… but so what?” A new research study finds that people who have had at least one child are more likely to live a bit longer than people who are childless. Some of the news coverage I’ve seen on this story might be making more of this than it should: Parenthood can help you live longer in older age Is parenthood an elixir for longevity? Being a parent makes you live longer Have scientists discovered the elixir of youth? None of these reflects the findings of this study accurately. And just how could parenthood be an elixir anyway? In any study finding a link between two things, it’s important to keep straight the difference between “association” (the observation that two things occurred together) and “causation” (in which one thing directly causes the other thing to happen). This was a study noting an association between parenthood and longer life. It did not prove that parenthood causes longer life — not even close. So, headlines suggesting it did are provocative at best (just to get your attention) and misleading at worst. What did the study find? Researchers collected data on everyone born in Sweden between 1911 and 1925 — more than 1.4 million people — and found that, as compared with childless individuals, those who had kids: Had a slightly longer life expectancy. By age 60, life expectancy was two years longer for men and 1.5 years longer for women. Lived longer well into advanced...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Family Planning and Pregnancy Health Parenting Source Type: blogs