Multiple pregnancies may accelerate ageing
WOMEN with many children, especially more than four or five, may look older as multiple pregnancies may accelerate the ageing of cells, a new study claims.
According to the researchers, there is good evidence to show that having more children can increase the risk of certain diseases and shorten lifespan.
Cellular ageing was accelerated by six months to two years for each additional pregnancy.
“Our study points to cellular changes during pregnancy, possibly related to adaptive changes in the mother’s immune system as a possible explanation,” said Christopher Kuzawa from Northwestern University in the US.
For the study, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports, the team collected data from around 3 200 women aged between 20 and 22, and looked at two separate markers of cellular ageing, that is, the length of telomeres – protective caps at the end of DNA strands – and epigenetic age.
“Telomere length and epigenetic age are cellular markers that independently predict mortality, and both appeared ‘older’ in women who had more pregnancies in their reproductive histories,” noted Calen Ryan from the varsity.
Interestingly, the team also found that women who were currently pregnant had cells that looked younger than predicted. – IANS