Associations of parental ages at childbirth with healthy aging among women

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine associations of parental ages at childbirth with healthy survival to age 90 years among older women. Study DesignThis study included a racially and ethnically diverse sub-cohort of 8,983 postmenopausal women from the larger Women’s Health Initiative population, recruited during 1993–1998 and followed for up to 25 years through 2018. Main Outcome MeasuresThe outcome was categorized as: 1) healthy survival, defined as survival to age 90 without major morbidities (coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, or hip fracture) or mobility disability; 2) usual survival, defined as survival to age 90 without healthy aging (reference category); or 3) death before age 90. Women reported their own and their parents’ birth years, and parental ages at childbirth were calculated and categorized as <25, 25–29, 30–34, or ≥35 years. ResultsWomen were aged on average 71.3 (standard deviation 2.7; range 65–79) years at baseline. There was no significant association of maternal age at childbirth with healthy survival to age 90 or death before age 90. Women born to fathers aged ≥35 compared with 30–34 years at their births were more likely to achieve healthy than usual survival (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.00–1.32). There was no association of paternal age at childbirth with death before age 90. ConclusionsFindings suggest that being born to older fathers was associated with healthy survival to age 90 among women who had survived to ages 65–79 years at study baseline. There was no association of maternal age at childbirth with healthy survival to age 90 among these older women.