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PROVO -- Your kids might drive you crazy but they might also be lowering your blood pressure.
BYU Psychology professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad said the findings of the research took her by surprise.
"I myself have asked myself several times how is this possible?" said Holt-Lunstad.
The study used portable blood pressure meters on 198 adults to check their blood pressure readings 24 hours a day -- even while participants slept.
- All participants were married and considered to be in good health.
- Age range: 20-68 years old
- Parental status: 70 percent had children
- Average number of children: 1.9
- Ethnicity: 80.6 percent white
- Average years of education: 16
"Men -- both with and without children -- hovered right around the national average," said Lunstad. "Women with children were significantly lower, and women without [kids] were significantly higher."
Some studies on animals suggest that when women get pregnant and lactate their bodies go through adaptations to help them better raise and protect their children and that could be the reason for the health benefit.
Holt-Lunstad did say they ruled out additional factors such as amount of sleep, employment, exercise habits, length of marriage, and alcohol and tobacco use. She said more study is needed to try to pinpoint the reason for the lower blood pressure.
Holt-Lunstad will publish her report in the peer-reviewed journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
