Long live first borns!

Experts in U.S have come up with a very interesting study on longevity. Doctors from the University of Chicago announced that children born to mothers before they turn 25 were twice more likely to live on to see their 100th birthday than kids born to mothers who are older.

Researchers were studying factors that strongly influence long life. They found that there is a strong correlation between long life and the age of a person's mother as well as the order of the birth. The researchers scrutinized the life span of almost thousand persons who had lived for a hundred years. They found out that it was 1.7 times more likely for a sibling to live to the ripe old age of hundred, if he or she happens to be the first born in the family.

Another red strand in the research was that most mothers, who gave birth to children early, seemed to have progeny that lived to see more birthdays! The chances of the children notching a century are doubled when mothers give birth before they reach 25, said the researchers.

Study leader Natalia Gavrilova,opined that it can be safely inferred that the eggs of a younger woman are much healthier. This could be the reason for the birth of more viable babies who seem to thrive better, and live longer. Younger moms, also seem to be lesser prone to infections that are potential risks to a developing baby.

This study was initiated after statistics showed that the life expectancy in the past 50 years had soared considerably. Figures show that on an average scale, men live on to be septuagenarians and women octogenarians, according to the survey conducted in 2005. Experts say that, Women are thrice more likely to beat men in their run for a century!

Source-Medindia
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