Birth Defects Higher Among Children with Older Fathers

Birth Defects Higher Among Children with Older Fathers

Older men have an increased risk of having a child with abnormalities, new research suggests.

The common belief is that there is no age limit for men when it comes to fathering a child. Unlike women who undergo menopause, men do not have a fixed “andropause”. However, this view is being challenged as new evidence shows that the rates of birth defects such as achondroplasia (short stature) and autism is higher among children with older fathers.

A recent study carried out at a large Israeli army database found that children of men over 40 were 5.75 times more likely to have an autism disorder than those who had fathers under 30. Another Israeli study suggested that the risk of schizophrenia in children is almost double if the father is in his late 40s.

Prof Sheena Lewis, a consultant in reproductive medicine at Queen's University Belfast, said that as men get older their sperm DNA becomes more fragmented. By the time a man is 50, the cells that create a man’s sperm have replicated up to 800 times, creating many possibilities for error.

According to Prof Lewis:

The impact of the father smoking is even worse than the mother smoking (you can't repair damage caused in sperm DNA)
Viagra can affect fertility by causing the sperm to travel too fast
Cannabis us slows sperm function, resulting in a reduction in fertility
She also warns about the damaging impact of modern lifestyle and environmental factors.




Posted Monday 25th June 2007