Grandparents who help care for grandchildren live longer

Grandparents who help out occasionally with childcare or provide support to others tend to live longer than seniors who do not care for other people, according to a study from Berlin, Germany.

Having full-time custody of grandchildren can have a negative effect on health, but occasional helping can be beneficial for seniors, the researchers write in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour.

The findings are drawn from data on more than 500 people over age 70 in the Berlin Aging Study.

Caregiving was linked with longer life even when the care recipient was not a relative. Half of all childless seniors who provided support to friends or neighbours lived for seven years after the study began, whereas non-helpers lived for four years on average.