Eastern-European peasants in the 18th-19th centuries rarely lived beyond the age of 50 years. However, some families and individuals did demonstrate considerable longevity. The current study focused on the influencing factors on the peasants’ length of life. Following previous research, it was hypothesized that longevity was associated with a lower fertility and living in a marriage (being neither widow(er) nor unmarried).
Statistical information on 1,986 Polish, Belorussian, Russian, and Ukrainian individuals was collected on the basis of church books and census data. Influencing factors on the length of life were scrutinized by means of univariate and multivariate statistical methods.
A higher length of life was associated with moving from rural to urban areas, a lower number of children and siblings, a higher length of life of parents and the spouse, being neither twin nor orphan, a higher age of marriage and birth of the first child, survival until the foundation of the Soviet Union (on the territory of the former Russian Empire).
To sum up, peasants who lived longer stem from families with a low fertility and also gave birth only to 1-2 children. They were supported by both parents at younger age and by their spouses at older age. They profited from a better healthcare system either by moving to urban areas or due to their survival until the introduction of large-scale vaccination programs in the 1920s-1930s in the Soviet Union. Living in a marriage into old age showed the highest predictive power for the longevity of both sexes.

Authors:
Eugen Zaretsky, Marburg University, Germany

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Eugen Zaretsky is currently a researcher (post-doc) at the Department of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology, University of Marburg

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