ArticlePloS one2021
Examining the trade-offs between human fertility and longevity over three centuries using crowdsourced genealogy data.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Genetic trade-offs in fertility and longevity explain the maintenance of disease-associated alleles in humans.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Article
- Analysing Biases in Genealogies Using Demographic Microsimulation.European journal of population = Revue europeenne de demographie · 2025Article
- Mothers facing greater environmental adversity experience increased costs of reproduction.Science advances · 2025Article
- Evaluating the Effect of Sex on Mortality Risks in Medieval Ireland.American journal of biological anthropology · 2025Article
- Apolipoprotein E polymorphisms and female fertility in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Parity and post-reproductive mortality among U.S. Black and White women: Evidence from the health and retirement study.PloS one · 2024Article
- Trends in assortative mating in the United States, 1700-1910. Evidence from FamiLinx data.The history of the family : an international quarterly · 2024Article
- Reproductive factors and cardiometabolic disease among middle-aged and older women: a nationwide study from CHARLS.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2024Article
- Mothers of small-bodied children and fathers of vigorous sons live longer.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Longevity and mortality in cats: A single institution necropsy study of 3108 cases (1989-2019).PloS one · 2022Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
The evolution theory of ageing predicts that reproduction comes with long-term costs of survival. However, empirical studies in human species report mixed findings of the relationship between fertility and longevity, which varies by populations, time periods, and individual characteristics. One explanation underscores that changes in survival conditions over historical periods can moderate the negative effect of human fertility on longevity. This study investigates the fertility-longevity relationship in Europe during a period of rapid modernisation (seventeenth to twentieth centuries) and emphasises the dynamics across generations. Using a crowdsourced genealogy dataset from the FamiLinx project, our sample consists of 81,924 women and 103,642 men born between 1601 and 1910 across 16 European countries. Results from multilevel analyses show that higher fertility has a significantly negative effect on longevity. For both women and men, the negative effects are stronger among the older cohorts and have reduced over time. Moreover, we find similar trends in the dynamic associations between fertility and longevity across four geographical regions in Europe. Findings and limitations of this study call for further investigations into the historical dynamics of multiple mechanisms behind the human evolution of ageing.
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