Hin Saskia, Ogórek Bartosz, Hedefalk Finn
a Centre for Sociological Research , University of Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.
b Faculty of Humanities , Pedagogical University , Krakow , Poland.
Biodemography Soc Biol. 2016;62(2):164-81. doi: 10.1080/19485565.2015.1124325.
This study analyzes the intergenerational effects of late childbearing on offspring's adult longevity in a population in Utah (United States) that does not display evidence of parity-specific birth control-a so-called natural fertility population. Studies have found that for women who experience late menopause and prolonged reproduction, aging is postponed and longevity is increased. This is believed to indicate female "robustness" and the impact of biological or genetic factors. If indeed there is a genetic component involved, one would expect to also find evidence for the intergenerational transmission of longevity benefits. Our study investigates the relationship between prolonged natural fertility of mothers and their offspring's survival rates in adulthood. Gompertz regression models (N = 7,716) revealed that the offspring of mothers who were naturally fertile until a relatively advanced age lived significantly longer. This observed positive effect of late reproduction was not independent of but conditional upon survival of the mother to the end of her fecundity (defined as age 50). Offspring's relative risks at death beyond age 50 were 6-12 percent lower than those of their counterparts born to mothers who had an average age at last birth. Our results, which account for various early, adult, and later-life conditions, as well as shared frailty, suggest that there is a positive relationship between mother's age at last birth and offspring longevity, and strengthen the notion that age at menopause is a good predictor of this relationship.
本研究分析了美国犹他州一个未显示出特定胎次生育控制证据的人群（即所谓的自然生育人群）中晚育对后代成年期寿命的代际影响。研究发现，对于经历绝经延迟和生育期延长的女性，衰老会推迟，寿命会延长。这被认为表明了女性的“强健性”以及生物或遗传因素的影响。如果确实涉及遗传成分，人们会期望也能找到寿命益处代际传递的证据。我们的研究调查了母亲自然生育期延长与其后代成年存活率之间的关系。冈珀茨回归模型（N = 7,716）显示，母亲自然生育到相对高龄的后代寿命显著更长。观察到的这种晚育的积极影响并非独立存在，而是以母亲存活到其生育期结束（定义为50岁）为条件。50岁以后后代的相对死亡风险比其母亲最后生育年龄为平均水平的同龄人低6% - 12%。我们的结果考虑了各种早期、成年期和晚年状况以及共同的脆弱性，表明母亲最后生育年龄与后代寿命之间存在正相关关系，并强化了绝经年龄是这种关系良好预测指标的观念。
