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Longevity — does family size matter?

Nature volume 399, page 522 (1999)Cite this article

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Westendorp and Kirkwood reply

We found1 that aristocratic women had low average family sizes, the reasons for which are discussed by Jim Cummins2. In these circumstances, any impairment of fertility is likely to result in an increased likelihood of remaining childless. Excluding childless couples from the analysis is therefore counterintuitive. In our opinion, the data from the British aristocracy do not support Ligtenberg and Brand's conclusion that “once you have children, the number you have makes no difference to your life expectancy”.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Gerontology and Geriatrics Department of General Internal Medicine, and Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Centre CO-P, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands

    R. G. J. Westendorp

  2. Department of Geriatric Medicine and The School of Biological Sciences, Biological Gerontology Group, University of Manchester, 3.239 Stopford Building, Oxford Road, M13 9PT, Manchester, UK

    R. G. J. Westendorp & T. B. L. Kirkwood

Authors
  1. R. G. J. Westendorp
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  2. T. B. L. Kirkwood
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Westendorp, R., Kirkwood, T. Longevity — does family size matter?. Nature 399, 522 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/21059-c1

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