#Women who have babies later in life may live longer: Study

When we’ll die remains a mystery, but having kids at an older age may imply a woman has better chances at living a longer life.

In a new study, researchers suggest that, following the birth of her last child, certain measurements can predict a woman’s life expectancy. The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Menopause.

The measurements work like a genetic crystal ball of sorts. Researchers have long known that a genetic material called “leukocyte telomeres” is crucial for keeping genomes stable. The chromosome-protecting DNA caps — think of the plastic tips on shoelaces — are now believed to give valuable insight into a person’s health mortality prospects via their length.

Prior studies have suggested a link between telomeres’ length and chronic conditions. Longer telomeres are thought to imply better health, while shorter telomeres can be a sign of issues including Type 2 diabetes, neurological conditions, cancers and cardiovascular disease.

But the current study went a step further. It looked at a diverse array of 1,200 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women and their telomere length, according to a press release.

Researchers then confirmed the findings of a previous smaller study, which found that a woman’s age upon the birth of her final child had a positive association with telomere length. In other words, women who give birth later in life are more likely to have longer telomeres, implying better health and longevity.

In 2018, a separate study on telomeres found that women who have lots of children may offset the telomere-related health benefits of having one or two.

“We found that women who had five or more children had even shorter telomeres compared to those who had none, and relatively shorter relative to those who had one, two, three, or four, even,” researcher Anna Pollack said at the time.

In a 2004 report, scientists found that telomeres extend and shorten in response to stress and humans’ connection to others.

“Love and TLC alter gene expression through microscopic epigenetic changes,” author Dr. Kelli Harding, reflected on the findings in her 2019 book “The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness.”