Parent will live longer than adults without children, a new study has suggested.
A study that look at over 1.4 million people born between 1911 and 1925 showed that men and women who had at least one child had a lower death risk than those who were not parents.
At the age of 60, men with children could likely live another 20.2 years, in comparison to those without children who were more likely to live another 18.4 years.
At the same age, mums could likely like another 24.6 years in comparison to women without children who could expect to live another 23.1 years.
The study was conducted by the world renowned Karolinska Institute in Stockholm in Sweden and was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Previous research had also suggested that parents to girls were likely to live longer as their daughters were more likely to care for them.
However, this study says that the gender of our children makes no difference to a parent’s life span.
“Having children is associated with increased longevity, particularly in an absolute sense in old age,” the team behind the research said.
“That the association increased with parents’ age and was somewhat stronger for the non-married may suggest that social support is a possible explanation.”
