Westendorp R G, Kirkwood T B
Department of General Internal Medicine, and Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, The Netherlands.
Nature. 1998;396(6713):743-6. doi: 10.1038/25519.
The disposable soma theory on the evolution of ageing states that longevity requires investments in somatic maintenance that reduce the resources available for reproduction. Experiments in Drosophila melanogaster indicate that trade-offs of this kind exist in non-human species. We have determined the interrelationship between longevity and reproductive success in Homo sapiens using a historical data set from the British aristocracy. The number of progeny was small when women died at an early age, increased with the age of death, reaching a plateau through the sixth, seventh and eighth decades of life, but decreased again in women who died at an age of 80 years or over. Age at first childbirth was lowest in women who died early and highest for women who died at the oldest ages. When account was taken only of women who had reached menopause, who were aged 60 years and over, female longevity was negatively correlated with number of progeny and positively correlated with age at first childbirth. The findings show that human life histories involve a trade-off between longevity and reproduction.
衰老进化的一次性体细胞理论认为，长寿需要对体细胞维持进行投资，这会减少可用于繁殖的资源。黑腹果蝇的实验表明，这种权衡在非人类物种中存在。我们利用来自英国贵族的历史数据集确定了人类寿命与生殖成功之间的相互关系。女性早逝时后代数量较少，随死亡年龄增加，在60、70和80岁时达到平稳，但80岁及以上死亡的女性后代数量又会减少。初育年龄在早逝女性中最低，在高寿女性中最高。仅考虑已绝经的60岁及以上女性时，女性寿命与后代数量呈负相关，与初育年龄呈正相关。研究结果表明，人类生命历程涉及长寿与繁殖之间的权衡。
