Female Fertility and Longevity

A correction based on contemporaries' fertility produced a significant positive association between fertility and longevity in women. After adjusting for year of birth, the female peerage data showed a marginally positive fertility-longevity association. The paper concludes that the Caerphilly peerage data do not robustly support the claim that female reproductive success reduces lifespan. The paper finds that the demographic evidence reviewed does not generally support a direct cost of fertility on longevity. Contemporary Norwegian data showed a positive relationship between fertility and longevity.