A latest study shows that children born to older fathers are at higher risk of mental disorders such as autism.
Researchers at Indiana University and Karolinska Institute in Stockholm studied the medical and public records of all Swedish people born between 1973 and 2001.
Sweden keeps detailed medical records so the father's age for each birth is noted and the researchers were able to track each child's medical history over time, as well as that of siblings and other relatives.
The findings showed that compared to a baby born to a 24-year-old father the child born to a 45-year-old father had 3.5 times more chances of developing autism, 13 times more likely to have ADHD, two times more likely to have a psychotic disorder, 25 times more likely to have bipolar disorder and 2.5 times more likely to display suicidal behavior or a substance abuse problem, the researchers stated in the press release.
Furthermore, the chances of the condition increased gradually with growing paternal age.. "The findings in this study are more informative than many previous studies," lead researcher Brian M. D'Onofrio of Indiana University said.
"First, we had the largest sample size for a study on paternal age. Second, we predicted numerous psychiatric and academic problems that are associated with significant impairment. Finally, we were able to estimate the association between paternal age at childbearing and these problems while comparing differentially exposed siblings, as well as cousins. These approaches allowed us to control for many factors that other studies could not."
The study also found that children of older fathers struggled more with academic performance.
The researchers said that unlike the eggs of women the sperms of men do not age but they are susceptible to the environmental and chemical toxins which cause genetic mutations in sperm cells . Studies have shown that sperms of older men have suffer more genetic mutations .
