Childless couples do not live as long as parents
CHILDLESS couples may not live as long as parents, a study suggests.
Having children may lengthen your life as women are four times more likely to die if they are not mothers, the study has found.
The researchers from Aarhus University, studied more than 21 000 couples. The Danish study found the early death rate in men was halved if they had children.
The effect was biggest among those having their own children but early deaths were also lower in those who adopted.
The researchers studied more than 21 000 couples having in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment be- tween 1994 and 2005. In that time 15 210 children were born and 1 564 were adopted. Also a total of 96 women and 200 men died.
The findings published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health showed there was no difference in psychiatric illness in couples whether they were childless or not, however those who adopted had fewer mental health problems probably because of health screening of prospective adoptive parents.
The early death rate from circulatory disease, cancers, and accidents among childless women was four times as high as that among those who gave birth to their own child, and 50% lower among wo- men who adopted. The research paper said: “Mindful that association is not the same thing as causation, our results suggest mortality rates are higher in the childless.
“Rates of psychiatric illness do not appear to vary with childlessness, but the rate of psychiatric illness in parents who adopt is decreased.” – The Daily Telegraph