The first study on the longevity of twin brothers has just been published in the journal PLOS ONE , whether they are dizygotic (from two ovules, usually called twins) or monozygotic (developed from a single ovule, whom in Spanish we simply call twins ). And according to the conclusions of this pioneering research, not only do twins live longer than the population average, but also identical twins outnumber the latter in life expectancy .
To reach their conclusion, the experts, from the University of Washington, analyzed the information compiled by the Danish Twin Registry, one of the oldest databases on this sector of the population . Specifically, they examined the cases of 2,932 same-sex pairs of twins and twins who were born between 1870 and 1900 and were over the age of ten. They thus observed that while 84 out of 100 Danish men reached their 45th birthday in the general population, the figure rose to 90 if they were men born from the same childbirth . In the case of women, the advantage was manifested only after the age of sixty.
“Our study agrees with many others that weigh the benefits of social ties for health,” says statistician David Sharrow, one of the authors of the new work.
Two conclusions have particularly caught the attention of scientists. In the first place, that the effect is especially appreciated in the male sex . One explanation would be that mutual support, both material and emotional, between twins and twins distances them from risky behaviors , more common in men.
Second is the fact that monozygotic siblings have even longer life expectancy , as can be seen from the Danish registry, which can be attributed to the greater intensity of the affective bonds between siblings who share genes.
