[Effect of birth parity on life expectancy and healthy life expectancy among rural women].

<b>Objective:</b> To analyze the effect of birth parity on life expectancy (LE) and healthy life expectancy (HLE) among rural women. <b>Method:</b> A total of 15 304 women aged 40 to 79 years who participated in baseline and follow-up surveys were selected from a rural cohort in Henan province. The LE and HLE of women with different birth parity were calculated by using multi-state life table. <b>Results:</b> There were 1 195 (7.8%), 7 782 (50.8%), 3 867 (25.3%) and 2 460 (16.1%) women with 1, 2, 3 and 4 birth parities, respectively, and the <i>M</i> (<i>Q</i>₁ and <i>Q</i>₃) of age were 50.3 (47.3, 53.4) and 53.3 (48.8, 60.7), 62.6 (55.4, 66.9) and 69.5 (64.7, 73.4) years old, respectively. LE at 40 years old was 44.5, 44.8, 45.1 and 45.4 years old, and HLE was 17.7, 18.3, 18.8 and 19.3 years old, respectively. LE at age 40 increased by 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 years in women with 2, 3, and 4 birth parities or more and HLE increased by 0.5, 1.1, and 1.6 years, respectively, compared with women with 1 birth parity. For women with higher and lower socioeconomic status who had 4 birth parities or more, the LE at age 40 was 47.1 and 43.9 years, respectively, an increase of 0.2 and 0.1 years over women with 1 birth parity, respectively; and the HLE was 20.4 and 18.7 years, respectively, an increase of 1.4 and 1.3 years over women with 1 birth parity, respectively. <b>Conclusion:</b> LE and HLE show an upward trend with the increase of birth parity among rural women.