Reproductions Hidden Toll: Childbearing Shortens Maternal Lifespan

A long-standing evolutionary theory suggests that producing more offspring may reduce lifespan, even in humans (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
More Children, Shorter Lifespan? Clear Evidence from the Great Finnish Famine

Go to source). Yet, despite extensive research spanning a century, conclusive evidence has remained elusive. Now, scientists from the University of Groningen, the University of Exeter, and the University of Turku have demonstrated that in times of severe hardship, the biological cost of reproduction can indeed shorten women’s lives. Their findings provide rare empirical confirmation of this long-debated link.

Harsh Winters and Famine in 19th-Century Finland

In the 1860s, Finland experienced several harsh winters, resulting in a series of poor harvests and famine. Researcher Euan Young from the University of Groningen used life-history data from Finnish parish records to study the effects of these harsh conditions on the relationship between reproductive effort and lifespan.

Analyzing Centuries of Life-History Data

In total, Young studied data from 4,684 women over a period of 250 years. Women who were exposed to the famine during their reproductive years (19–45 years old) lived shorter lives when they had more children.

Mothers with just one child on average reached the age of 71.6 years, while a mother with fifteen children reached the age of 64.3 years. Each additional child shortened the mother’s lifespan by about half a year.

Women who were not exposed to the famine, or who experienced it during a different phase of life, did not experience a shorter lifespan.

Reproductive Effort and Longevity: A Confirmed Link

Young stated: ‘For over a hundred years, researchers have studied how reproduction influences lifespan, with mixed results. This has led some to believe that reproductive behaviour is not a significant factor in shaping human aging. Contrary to this, our findings suggest that under harsh conditions, reproductive effort certainly affects lifespan.’

Reference:

1. More Children, Shorter Lifespan? Clear Evidence from the Great Finnish Famine - (https://bioengineer.org/more-children-shorter-lifespan-clear-evidence-from-the-great-finnish-famine/)

Source-University of Groningen