US researchers found that .older mothers live longer than moms who give birth in their twenties.
American researchers found that women who had their last child after 33 had double the chances of being in the top five percent of long life compared with women whose last birth was at 29.
The link is thought to be down to the length of telomeres, essential parts of human cells that affect how they age.
Telomeres protect chromosomes during the replication process to prevent the loss of DNA strands.
Yet as we age, the length of telomeres decreases. Longer lengths are typically associated with better health and the ability to bear children at an older age.
The research, led by Professor Nicole Schupf at Columbia University, which was published in Menopause, analysed Long Life Family Study data on 387 women over the age of 70.
It found that compared with women who had their last child at 29, those with a later age at birth – from 34 onwards – were more likely to be in the longest tertile of telomere length.