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Fitness benefits of prolonged post-reproductive lifespan in women

Author

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  • Mirkka Lahdenperä

    (University of Turku)

  • Virpi Lummaa

    (University of Sheffield
    University of Cambridge)

  • Samuli Helle

    (University of Turku)

  • Marc Tremblay

    (University of Quebec)

  • Andrew F. Russell

    (University of Sheffield)

Abstract

Most animals reproduce until they die, but in humans, females can survive long after ceasing reproduction1,2. In theory, a prolonged post-reproductive lifespan will evolve when females can gain greater fitness by increasing the success of their offspring than by continuing to breed themselves3,4,5,6. Although reproductive success is known to decline in old age1,2,3,4,5,6, it is unknown whether women gain fitness by prolonging lifespan post-reproduction. Using complete multi-generational demographic records, we show that women with a prolonged post-reproductive lifespan have more grandchildren, and hence greater fitness, in pre-modern populations of both Finns and Canadians. This fitness benefit arises because post-reproductive mothers enhance the lifetime reproductive success of their offspring by allowing them to breed earlier, more frequently and more successfully. Finally, the fitness benefits of prolonged lifespan diminish as the reproductive output of offspring declines. This suggests that in female humans, selection for deferred ageing should wane when one's own offspring become post-reproductive and, correspondingly, we show that rates of female mortality accelerate as their offspring terminate reproduction.

Suggested Citation

  • Mirkka Lahdenperä & Virpi Lummaa & Samuli Helle & Marc Tremblay & Andrew F. Russell, 2004. "Fitness benefits of prolonged post-reproductive lifespan in women," Nature, Nature, vol. 428(6979), pages 178-181, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:428:y:2004:i:6979:d:10.1038_nature02367
    DOI: 10.1038/nature02367
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    Cited by:

    1. Stark, Oded, 2021. "Menopause as a regulatory device for matching the demand for children with its supply: A hypothesis," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    2. Spiro, Daniel, 2020. "Multigenerational transmission of culture," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    3. Simon Chapman & Mirkka Danielsbacka & Antti O Tanskanen & Mirkka Lahdenperä & Jenni Pettay & Virpi Lummaa, 2023. "Grandparental co-residence and grandchild survival: the role of resource competition in a pre-industrial population," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 34(3), pages 446-456.
    4. Jeste, Dilip V. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2014. "Individual and Societal Wisdom: Explaining the Paradox of Human Aging and High Well-Being," Economic Research Papers 270237, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    5. Danielsbacka, Mirkka & Tanskanen, Antti O. & Coall, David A. & Jokela, Markus, 2019. "Grandparental childcare, health and well-being in Europe: A within-individual investigation of longitudinal data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 194-203.
    6. Goksel, Türkmen & Gurdal, Mehmet Y. & Orman, Cuneyt, 2014. "The baby boom, baby busts, and the role of grandmothers in childcare," MPRA Paper 65438, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Catalano, Ralph, 2011. "Selection in utero contributes to the male longevity deficit," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(6), pages 999-1003, March.
    8. Karen L. Kramer, 2021. "The Human Family—Its Evolutionary Context and Diversity," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, May.
    9. Jeste, Dilip V. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2014. "Individual and Societal Wisdom: Explaining the Paradox of Human Aging and High Well-Being," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 191, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    10. Jan Havlíček & Petr Tureček & Alice Velková, 2021. "One but not two grandmothers increased child survival in poorer families in west Bohemian population, 1708–1834," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 32(6), pages 1138-1150.
    11. Simon N Chapman & Jenni E Pettay & Mirkka Lahdenperä & Virpi Lummaa, 2018. "Grandmotherhood across the demographic transition," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, July.
    12. Dwight Read, 2020. "From Pan to Homo sapiens: evolution from individual based to group based forms of social cognition," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 19(1), pages 121-161, June.
    13. Antti O. Tanskanen & Mirkka Danielsbacka, 2017. "Association Between Grandparental Co-Residence and Early Childhood Injury in the UK," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(3), pages 825-837, September.
    14. Jan Beise, 2004. "The helping and the helpful grandmother - The role of maternal and paternal grandmothers in child mortality in the 17th and 18th century population of French Settlers in Quebec, Canada," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2004-004, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    15. Schrijner, Sandor & Smits, Jeroen, 2018. "Grandparents and Children's stunting in sub-Saharan Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 90-98.
    16. Gretchen C. Perry, 2021. "Non-Parental Investment in Children and Child Outcomes after Parental Death or Divorce in a Patrilocal Society," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, May.
    17. Jack L McCormack & Kevin Arbuckle & Karen Fullard & William Amos & Hazel J Nichols, 2023. "Lack of intergenerational reproductive conflict, rather than lack of inclusive fitness benefits, explains absence of post-reproductive lifespan in long-finned pilot whales," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 34(6), pages 950-959.
    18. Cristina Moya & Anna Goodman & Ilona Koupil & Rebecca Sear, 2021. "Historical Context Changes Pathways of Parental Influence on Reproduction: An Empirical Test from 20th-Century Sweden," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, July.
    19. Orman, Cuneyt & Goksel, Turkmen & Gurdal, Mehmet Y, 2011. "The Baby Boom, Baby Busts, and Grandmothers," MPRA Paper 28782, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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