Parenthood is the secret to longer life

Jeremy Laurance
Wednesday 05 December 2012 19:40 EST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Becoming parents lengthens people's lives as it makes them behave more responsibly, take fewer risks and follow healthier lifestyles, a study suggests.

The study of 21,000 couples treated at IVF clinics in Denmark found the death rate from cancer, heart disease and accidents was four times higher among childless women than among those who had children.

Among men, death rates were twice as high among those who did not become parents. The findings are published in the Journal of Epidemiology.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in