Is it useless to urge marriage? When to get married and have children is actually related to genes?

Is it useless to urge marriage? Is the timing of marriage and childbirth related to genes?

When to find a partner and have children is the result of the combined effects of genetic factors, social factors and environmental factors. It is difficult to solve the problem by simply urging marriage?

Is this really the case?

Some people have conducted genetic research. Through genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) research, the entire human genome was searched and screened through multiple data sources. A total of 387,338 people's ages when they first had sexual intercourse and 542,901 people's ages when they gave birth to their first child were integrated.

This is also the largest genome study in this research field to date.

The study found 371 gene mutation sites, 11 of which were sex-specific, that drive two of the most important milestones in life - the age at first sexual intercourse and the age at becoming a parent.

The research team calculated a genetic score based on this, and all the gene loci discovered combined can explain approximately 5-6% of the variation in the average age of first sexual intercourse or first childbirth.

Socioeconomic environment or education level during childhood and adolescence are also important predictors of the timing of childbearing.

In general, people in areas with high education levels and good economic conditions usually have children later. For example, in developed countries and regions, the average childbearing age of women is usually over 30 years old. In backward and impoverished areas, the average childbearing age is even less than 20 years old.

This is actually true. Going to school will delay marriage. The higher the education level, the later the marriage. If you stop going to school, you will get married and have children earlier.

From this study, we can find that the early or late time of childbearing is determined by genetic factors, social factors and environmental factors.

The study also found that people who were genetically predisposed to have sex and have children later in life had better health and lived longer in later life, which was associated with having a higher socioeconomic status in childhood and adolescence.

Genetic factors that drive reproductive behavior are closely associated with later-life diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

This seems to mean that urging couples to get married or have children is actually not very useful. When a person will find a partner and when he or she will have children is actually written in their genes.

nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01135-3[/cp]