Children of older mothers are fitter, taller and cleverer

New Study: Children of older mothers are fitter, taller and more educated
Although scientific research in the past has shown that the health risks of children increase with the age of their mothers, the offspring apparently also benefit from it. According to the latest findings, children of older mothers are fitter, taller and smarter.

Despite risks, children of older mothers benefit
The average age of mothers continues to rise. And although many studies have shown that children's health risks increase with their mothers' age, the later women get pregnant, the greater the risk of children being born more often with Down syndrome. In addition, the offspring can later in life more likely to suffer from Alzheimer's, hypertension or diabetes. Despite these risks, children benefit from their mothers being late, reports the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock in a press release. This is evidenced by a study published by MPIDR director Mikko Myrskylä and Kieron Barclay of the London School of Economics in the journal Population and Development Review.

Children of older mothers are, according to a new study, healthier, taller and smarter than the offspring of younger women. (Image: Andy Dean / fotolia.com)

Similar results in earlier investigations
Years ago, researchers led by Mikko Myrskylä found out in a study of the medical data of 18,000 US citizens that children of older women are healthier than others. At the end of last year, British researchers from the London School of Economics reported study results showing that mothers in their thirties tend to have smarter children. Data from Sweden has now been evaluated in the current study.

Benefits of medical advances
Although a higher age of the mother is associated with health risks to the child, the offspring of older mothers, according to the researchers, are healthier, larger and more educated than the children of younger women. It is said that the benefits of medical advances and a mother's improved social status over time outweigh the risks. Previous studies examining the impact of maternal age on their children's health had ignored such developments, according to the scientists.

Offspring with better school performance
In their study, researchers analyzed data from more than 1.5 million Swedish women and men born between 1960 and 1991. They examined the size of these people, their physical fitness, their degrees and their education. The factors size and physical fitness examined them, as these are good indicators of general health, while the degree of education is crucial for career success and socioeconomic status. The researchers found that the children of older mothers were larger, achieved better school performance, and were more likely to attend university than the children of younger mothers. This was true even if the mothers were over 40 years old when the baby was born.

Different view of the advanced age of mothers
And even when the researchers compared siblings with a large age gap, it turned out that children whose mother had been in their early 40s, visited on average about a year longer a school or university as siblings, at their birth, the mother just beginning 20 had been. "The benefits of having a later year of birth outweigh the individual risk factors of having a higher age of the mother at birth," Mikko Myrskylä summarized the findings. According to the scientist, one has to develop a different view on the advanced age of mothers: "Expectant parents are almost always aware of the risks associated with late pregnancy - but they hardly know the positive effects." (Ad)