14 DAY TRIAL // A group of investigators has recently determined that women who have twins tend to live longer than other mothers, have more children than the norm, give birth to children at shorter intervals, and are older than usual at the time of their last birth.
The new investigation was a retrospective study of Utah pioneers, say experts in charge of the work. They are quick to point out, however, that this discovery does not imply it's healthier for women to have twins, and that the women should strive for this.
What the work is suggesting is that women who are healthier than the norm may be more predisposed to giving birth to twins. This correlation does not take into account fertility interventions.
The new study, which was published online in the latest issue of the esteemed journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, was carried out by experts at the University of Utah, PsychCentral reports.
“Having twins will not make you stronger or healthier, but stronger, healthier women are more likely to have twins naturally,” explains UH researcher Shannen Robson, PhD, who was the first author of the journal entry.
“The prevailing view is that the burden of childbearing on women is heavier when bearing twins. But we found the opposite: women who naturally bear twins in fact live longer and are actually more fertile,” adds expert Ken R. Smith, PhD.
The investigator holds an appointment as the director of the University of Utah Pedigree and Population Resource. This group is responsible for maintaining and managing the large Utah Population Database.
The women analyzed in this study were born between1807 and 1899 in Utah. Of the 58,786 non-polygamous participants, about 4,603 gave birth to twins, while 54,183 only gave birth to one baby at a time, the investigators reports.
“People are always interested in what affects how long we are going to live. It’s complicated. There are so many factors that contribute to longevity, health and aging,” Smith explains further.
“This study has been able to identify – and it’s a fairly novel result – another important factor that contributes to health and longevity in later years, namely, that women bearing twins appear to be healthier,” he goes on to say
“That innate healthiness is contributing to their ability to have twins, and it is also contributing to their longevity,” Smith concludes.