Scientists leave no illusions. The most beautiful experience in life, motherhood for most women, affects the rate of aging of the body. A new study published in the journal Human Reproduction shows that women who give birth age faster than their childless peers. Many years faster.
Anna Pollack and her colleagues at the University of Virginia looked at one measure of biological aging, namely telomere length. A telomere is a piece of a chromosome located at its end that protects it from being damaged during copying. The telomere shortens with each cell division, and shorter telomeres are a reflection of aging and are directly associated with a range of health conditions and higher mortality as well as the physical signs of aging such as gray hair.
As part of the study, researchers from the University of Virginia examined the telomere length in blood samples of nearly 2. American women aged 20 to 44 and made a surprising discovery. Women who gave birth had telomeres on average by 4,2 percent. shorter than childless women.
Differences in biological age of mothers and childless women
Scientists calculated this to be the equivalent of 11 years. This means that even 11 years more may be indicated by the biological clock of the mother than of a childless woman. They also noted that this was a more significant difference than was seen in studies on smoking or obesity.
However, the researchers added that other similar studies have obtained completely opposite results. A 2017 Mayan study of women found that ladies who had more children had longer telomeres than those who had fewer.
This contradiction, according to Anna Pollack, may have relationship with the level of stress in raising a childand not with the birth certificate itself. So more research is needed to support the theory of the accelerated aging of cells and the telomere length associated with having children. Therefore, the researchers emphasize that the results should be interpreted with caution and should not affect the decision to have children.
Stop the aging of the body. Bet on physical activity and a good diet. Take care of your skin too – you can stop its aging thanks to a dietary supplement with coenzyme Q10. You will find it in Medonet Market.
We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time, we asked Orina Krajewska what, according to her, a holistic approach to health is. How to combine the three aspects – body, spirit and mind to enjoy balance and good health? You will hear about this and many other aspects of the topic in the latest episode of our podcast.