DUBBO women born before 1930 who bore a brood of children survived longer than their peers who never were mothers or had only one child.

The director of the Dubbo Study of the Elderly, Leon Simons, revealed the gem of information at a conference in the city yesterday, ahead of its publication in medical journals.

Mothers of six or more children had the lowest rating on an all-important measure, when data collected from 2805 Dubbo senior citizens in a 20-year study from 1988 was dredged recently.

Despite the result, the director, who is also Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of NSW, was not about to suggest todays generation live like their great-grandmothers.

Were not saying people should only have six babies in the future; that would not be popular with lots of people, he said.

The academic shared his latest research results at day one of Ageing Well, the rural conference of the Australian Association of Gerontology and the Aged and Community Services Association of NSW and ACT.

The conference, attended by more than 135 delegates from the aged care industry, including some from Dubbo, was an opportunity to share successes and further develop skills.

The Dubbo study director used his 80-minute spot on the program to describe the reasons for the study and how it was done and then moved into findings.

Mothers of six children survived longer for more than just hormonal reasons, Professor Simons said.

I base that on the fact that some of the Scandinavian studies show some similar trends in men as well, he said.

Originally posted here:
Large families the key to longevity