London: Contrary to popular belief that
raising kids is a stressful job, a new study suggests it
actually lowers blood pressure, especially among women.
"While caring for children may include daily hassles,
deriving a sense of meaning and purpose from life`s stress has
been shown to be associated with better health outcomes," said
Dr Julianne Holt-Lunstad, who led the study at Brigham Young
University in Utah.
The team came to the conclusion after monitoring the BP
of 198 married adults -- aged between 20 and 68 years -- for a
day. Seventy per cent of the participants had kids.
Their BP was measured at random intervals throughout the
day, even when they were asleep, the team reported in the
journal Annals of Behavioural Medicine.
The researchers took into account various factors like
health, age, weight, exercise, employment and drinking history
that can influence BP.
They observed that while the average systolic BP - the
top number - was 4.5 points lower for parents than
non-parents, the average diastolic BP - the bottom number -
was three points lower for parents than non-parents.
Female participants, however, had a more driving effect
with mothers exhibiting a 12- and a seven-point difference in
high and low blood pressure compared with childless women, the
Daily Mail reported.
Pointing out that this does not mean that more kids you
have, the better would be your blood pressure, Dr Holt-Lunstad
said, "The findings are simply tied to parenthood, no matter
the number of children or employment status."
PTI