A new study analyzed data from one of the oldest and most complete registries of information about twins in the world—2,932 pairs of same-sex twins born in
Denmark between 1870-1900—and compared their lifespans to that of the general population.
They found that at nearly every age, identical twins survived longer than fraternal twins, who in turn, had greater longevity than the general population.
The question is why do twins live longer?
We already know that a similar longevity effect has been found for marriage. Married people tend to be healthier than unmarried people and thus, live longer. However, drawing clear conclusions from marriage data is complicated because it is unclear whether marriage itself makes people healthier or whether healthier people choose to get and stay married longer. Since twins have no choice about their twinhood, it is easier to tease out the contributing factors to their longevity.
The researchers concluded twins’ greater longevity results from three factors:
1. Twins are more likely to provide emotional and other kinds of support during difficult and stressful times. Since identical twins are more similar than fraternal twins, they might be better at knowing when their twin needs support and how to provide it—thus explaining the small advantage in longevity identical twins have over fraternal twins.
2. The lifelong close relationship twins have might buffer them from risky behaviors as they have someone looking out for their best interests. The researchers concluded this was especially true of male twins, as men are more prone to risky behaviors than women.
3. The mutual care twins often exhibit can not only prevent risky decisions and behaviors, they can promote healthy ones as well. Twins may inspire one another to adopt healthy habits. They might also benefit from seeing their counterpart succeed at healthy endeavors, thus making them feel more assured of success if they set similar goals.
For the sake of full disclosure, I should mention I am an identical twin and have an extremely supportive relationship with my brother. However, the findings of this study actually go beyond twinhood to the importance of close lifelong social bonds of any kind. True, twins have the advantage of having a built-in social and emotional support system, but similar benefits can also be derived from having a life-long best friend, a long and supportive marriage or an extremely close relationship with anyone with whom we choose to share our lives. Indeed, having a close circle of friends or a tight-knit community have also been found to increase longevity.
Therefore, what this study actually illustrates is the importance of maintaining close and highly supportive relationships, as they will not only enrich our lives, they will extend them as well.
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