Late pregnancy - a clue to prolonging life?

J Perinat Med. 2017 May 24;45(4):399-401. doi: 10.1515/jpm-2016-0012.

Abstract

The relation between fertility and longevity has always been a subject of study and controversy. Indeed, life expectancy extension is found to be tied to late births. This conclusion can be drawn from social-observational studies like the Long Life Family Study in New England and the New England Centenarian Study on which was found that women whose last birth was after 40 years of age are more likely to live longer. Recently, a group in Israel published a review on animal and human studies that shed some understanding on the cellular mechanisms behind the association between pregnancy and tissue regeneration and repair. These studies shed some understanding to draw biological plausibility on the association between late pregnancy and life expectancy.

Keywords: Anthropology; late pregnancy; regeneration; tissue repair.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Longevity*
  • Maternal Age*
  • Pregnancy