Study: Having Daughters Is Linked to Better Cognitive Outcomes in Older Parents
Latest news on WhatsApp أجدد الأخبار على واتسابA recent peer-reviewed study suggests that having daughters may be associated with better cognitive outcomes among older parents, highlighting the potential role of emotional and social support in maintaining brain health with age.
Published in the Journal of Women & Aging, the study analyzed data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies and reported a “daughter effect”: having biological daughters was significantly associated with stronger cognitive ability in aging parents, with a more pronounced association in one-child families and a stronger effect as parents grew older.
The authors also found that emotional support partially mediated this association, with a larger mediating effect among socially isolated older adults. The study noted differences by region and gender, with stronger associations in urban families and a stronger improvement effect for older mothers than for older fathers.
The researchers cautioned that the findings reflect an observational association in a specific context and do not, on their own, prove that having daughters prevents dementia. Still, the results reinforce the importance of social connection and emotional support for cognitive health later in life.
