Why women enjoy longer life if their mum reaches 90

WOMEN whose mothers live to a ripe old age can expect a longer life themselves, say scientists.

Yet the same link was not found between fathers and daughters – suggesting longevity may pass down the female line.

A study of 22,000 women in the US found women whose mothers lived past the age of 90 were 25 per cent more likely to do so themselves – and they also managed to avoid serious illness in later life.

The scientists also found that if only the father lived to an old age, it had no impact on the longevity and health of their daughter.

However, if both the mother and father lived to 90, the likelihood of their daughter also doing so jumped to 38 per cent.

The researchers believe this combined impact was because parents passed on good habits – such as eating healthily and exercising. But their findings suggest genetic factors that contribute to longevity, which have by far the biggest influence, may have the greatest impact when passed from mother to daughter.

The scientists from the University of California San Diego did not examine the impact on sons, as they only had access to data from a long-running study of women.

Study leader Dr Aladdin Shadyab said: ‘Achieving healthy ageing has become a critical public health priority in light of the rapidly growing ageing population.

‘Our results show that, not only did these women live to age 90, but they also aged well by avoiding major diseases and disabilities.

‘It’s not just about the number of candles on the cake. These women were independent and could do daily activities like bathing, walking, climbing a flight of stairs or participating in hobbies they love, like golf, without limitations.’ Life expectancy in Britain is growing – with women now expected to live until 83 and men until 79.

But people born today can expect to spend nearly two decades at the end of their life suffering from medical conditions.

Conditions such as back pain, bad joints, diabetes and dementia mean today’s generation of children will spend more than a fifth of their lives in a state of bad health.

Public Health England says boys born between 2013 and 2015 have an average ‘healthy life expectancy’ of 63.4 – and will then spend another 16.1 years in poor health.

And girls on average will be healthy until 64.1 and will then be ill for another 19.1 years.

The problem is getting worse – boys born between 2000 and 2002 are expected to spend 15.4 years of their life ill, and girls 18.1 years.

Dr Shadyab believes a combination of genetics, environment and behaviour passed to subsequent generations influences how we age. ‘We now have evidence that how long our parents live may predict our long- term outcomes, including whether we will age well, but we need further studies to explore why,’ he said.

‘We need to clarify how certain factors interact with genes to influence ageing. Although we cannot determine our genes, our study shows the importance of passing on healthy behaviours to our children.

‘Certain lifestyle choices can determine healthy ageing from generation to generation.’