London - Having sons can break a woman’s heart in more ways than one, research shows.
Working mothers are at greater risk of heart disease and fatal heart attacks if they have boys.
Although it isn’t clear why, scientists think it may be because sons are less likely to pull their weight at home by helping with the housework. Boys may also be more troublesome – putting their mother’s heart under extra strain.
The theories come from Italian researchers who tracked the health of more than 100 000 women for eight years. Most of the women worked and 60 percent had at least one child.
The researchers found that being employed was not linked to heart problems – unless a woman had sons.
Working mothers of at least two boys were more than twice as likely to have heart disease than those without children.
In contrast, daughters had little or no effect on heart health, the journal Social Science & Medicine reports.
The Turin University researchers said having sons and holding down a job may place a “double burden” on a woman’s heart.
One explanation is that mothers of boys are left to do more housework when they get home from work. Girls, in contrast, may be more likely to do their fair share.
Figures from Italy show that just as women do more chores than men, teenage girls do more to help around the house than adolescent boys.
The researchers said their theory could perhaps be tested by doing a comparative study in Scandinavia. Housework there is more likely to be divided evenly and such a study could show whether working Scandinavian women with sons have healthier hearts than their Italian counterparts.
Another explanation for the increased risk for working moms is that teenage boys’ behaviour causes more stress.
The researchers said: “Employed women may be overburdened by the combination of working outside the household for many hours and responsibilities and concerns due to the deviant behaviour of their adolescent sons.”
Finally, it is also possible that the problem can be traced back to pregnancy, with bigger male babies taking a long-term toll on the mother’s heart.
Previous research has found that getting stuck into vacuuming, ironing and dusting after work and at weekends can send stress levels and blood pressure soaring.
Regardless of the amount of housework actually done, those who felt they were shouldering the responsibility were at the greatest risk of high blood pressure.
Mothers of sons should perhaps take note of another study that found men actually like to do housework.
Cambridge University researchers discovered that husbands and boyfriends may feel guilty if don’t do their share of the work around the home.
It is also possible that helping out is preferable to being nagged to do so.
Daily Mail