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HEALTH

What’s the secret to long life? Have children, Swedish experts say

A new Swedish study suggests that people who have children live longer than those who do not.

Published: 14 March 2017 13:00 CET
What's the secret to long life? Have children, Swedish experts say
Two Swedish pensioners in Kiruna. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

The study, by researchers at the Karolinska Institute (KI) medical university in Stockholm, looked at 1.4 million Swedes born between 1911 and 1925. The researchers calculated that at the age of 60, the remaining life expectancy of men without children could be projected as a further 18.4 years, while those who had kids could expect 20.2 years more.

Women of the same age who did not have children could expect 23.1 more years, while those who did were likely to live another 24.6 years on average.

The study also showed that the positive effects of having children on life expectancy increased the older those in the sample got.

“There are several other studies on the subject and a large consensus that parents live longer than those who do not have kids, but not so many that follow parents through the years, nor look at how the effects of having kids impacts mortality at different ages,” KI assistant professor of epidemiology Karin Modig told The Local.

Readers who aren't planning on having kids shouldn't worry too much just yet however.

The study's conclusions did not take into account other potentially important factors which may have impacted the sample group of people without children. Choosing not to have children due to health issues, for example, is one of them.

“We still don't know exactly what mechanisms the link works through. The childless group is a heterogeneous group which consists of both highly educated, generally healthy individuals, and individuals with poorer health. There are so many different reasons for not having children,” Modig noted.

“However, there are several studies which show the need for support from a family member when you get older. So it's maybe more of a question for the health sector to consider. In other words, to give particular attention to those individuals.”

The researchers say the study shows that social support from adult children grows in importance as we get older.

So could that be one reason why people in Mediterranean countries like Spain – where caring for older relatives is still a social norm – tend to be the best performers when it comes to life expectancy in Europe?

“It's difficult to say. The effects of having children on your risk of dying as you get old are still relatively small in comparison to other factors. But we actually have an extension of the project where we will also look at other, more family-based societal structures of health and social care,” Modig revealed.

The study also looked at whether being married had an impact on mortality, and found that there was some difference for men, but not a significant difference for women. One reason for that could be that among the generation in the sample, unmarried men were generally a more socially vulnerable group, with a lesser level of education.

READ ALSO: Why Italian merry widows perk up after husbands die

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HEALTH

Who should get vaccinated against TBE in Sweden?

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has more than doubled in Sweden in the past decade. Who should get vaccinated against it and how much does it cost?

Published: 13 March 2024 13:44 CET
Updated: 8 April 2024 07:53 CEST
Who should get vaccinated against TBE in Sweden?

TBE, or Tick-borne encephalitis, is one of the two main tick-borne diseases in Sweden (Lyme disease is the other one).

It is a viral brain infection, which can cause a range of symptoms, usually starting with typical flu-like symptoms and then developing to include nausea, dizziness, and in around a third of cases, severe problems.

Symptoms usually appear around a week after the bite, but can take longer. There is no cure, but it can be treated, and there is a vaccination too.

The tick season tends to last from March to November, peaking in April to mid-June. According to the Public Health Agency, most TBE cases however tend to be recorded during the summer, as that’s the period when people spend the most time outdoors.

TBE is relatively rare, but has been on a fairly steady increase in Sweden in the past decade, from 178 confirmed cases in 2014 (or an incidence rate of 1.83 per 100,000 people) to 595 cases in 2023 (incidence rate 5.64), according to the Public Health Agency’s statistics.

Who should get vaccinated?

Because the infection can in a few cases lead to serious consequences, anyone who lives in an area where there’s a high concentration of ticks carrying TBE is recommended to get vaccinated.

That includes people who live there permanently and who have temporary summer homes, as well as people who spend a lot of time outdoors in these areas, but there’s no strict cut-off point.

Not all ticks carry TBE, and they have historically been concentrated in southern parts of Sweden and the Stockholm archipelago, but have been spreading across the country in recent years.

The regions that recorded the most number of cases last year were Stockholm (160, or an incidence rate of 6.52 per 100,000 people), Västra Götaland (121, or 6.85), Södermanland (55, or 18.22), Uppsala (52, or 12.85), Västmanland (33, or 11.75) and Värmland (31, or 10.93).

The only region that didn’t record a single case of TBE in 2023 was Gotland. Jämtland, Västerbotten and Västernorrland recorded one case each, and Norrbotten two cases.

You may want to contact your regional health services for specific information. Skåne, for example, only recorded 21 cases last year (an incidence rate of 1.48), but TBE is more common in certain parts of the region than others, and the region recommends that people living in these parts get vaccinated – there’s more information to be found on the region’s TBE vaccine page.

You can of course also get vaccinated even if you don’t live in a high-risk area, especially if you spend a lot of time in the forest or tall grass.

How can I get vaccinated?

You can search for healthcare centres near you through 1177.se or the website Fästing.nu (fästing is the Swedish word for tick – don’t confuse it with fästning, a fortress). To view regional information on 1177, go to the top of the page and click välj region (choose region).

The vaccine is not part of Sweden’s national vaccination programme, so you have to pay for it.

In Östergötland, the vaccine is subsidised by the region, so each dose of the initial three doses costs 200 kronor for adults. In a lot of other regions, including Stockholm, it costs around 400 kronor.

Only Sörmland, Uppsala, Västmanland, Östergötland and Jönköping offer the vaccine for free to children and teenagers, at least the basic vaccination schedule of the initial three doses.

How does the vaccine work?

You start with three doses (or four if you’re over 50), usually the first two within the space of one to three months and the third dose ahead of the next season, no more than a year after the second dose.

Each of these doses increases your level of protection, but because you need several to be fully protected, it’s recommended that you begin the vaccination programme well ahead of tick season.

You then get a fourth (or fifth if you’re over 50) top-up dose after three years, and will need top-ups every five years.

Children under the age of 15 are recommended to get the second dose one month after the first dose, then the third dose after 5-12 months. After that they follow the same schedule as adults, so a fourth dose after three years followed by top-ups every five years.

People with an impaired immune system due to underlying health issues are recommended to follow the same schedule as over-50s. They may not be able to reach a full level of defence against TBE, but the vaccine will offer enough protection that they are still recommended to get it.

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