Guide Age matters
PREGNANCY IN a woman's 40s poses quite a number of risks for the child and mother. But what many people are not aware of is the father's age at the time of conception could likewise bring about serious health issues to his offspring. This phenomenon is called the advanced paternal age effect.
“While the effects of maternal age are well described, advanced paternal age carries both known and unknown risks. Testicular function and sperm quality deteriorate with age,” stated the US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in a report.
Studies revealed that the children of men above 40 may face an increased risk of autism, birth defects, miscarriage, and even Schizophrenia. Unfortunately, the paternal age at which offspring health is affected is indefinite, making counselling difficult.
The build up of chromosomal anomalies and mutations as a man matures is thought to be responsible for the increasing risks of certain conditions with advancing paternal age. The NCBI explained that the amount of DNA damage in sperm of men aged 36 to 57 is thrice that of men below 35-years old.
“Societal pressures are partly to blame for the trend of couples delaying childbearing well into their mid- to late-thirties. Careers and educational aspirations, along with an increased life expectancy and the nearly ubiquitous use of contraception, have decreased accidental birth rates and increased parental age at first childbirth,” the NCBI added.
In terms of birth defects and developmental illnesses, a Danish study concluded that paternal age is associated with cleft lip and cleft palate, independently on maternal age. Meanwhile, Schizophrenia is also one of the diseases associated with paternal age.
Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that can affect how a person feels, thinks, and behaves. “This may be because of an increase in mutations arising in paternal germ cells, although the possibility of confounding ( for example, by schizoid personality traits) cannot be ruled out,” it said.
A Swedish population-based study, on the other hand, was used to estimate that the boost in paternal age since 1980 could account for around 10% of new cases of Schizophrenia identified in the United Kingdom in 2002.
Apart from that, advanced paternal age is likewise connected with enlarged risk of cancers in offspring ( for example, breast, prostate, nervous system). The NCBI then stated that there is less conclusive data regarding Alzheimer's disease.
“[P]otential social disadvantages of increased paternal age should also be considered, such as less energetic parents and decreased likelihood of the child benefiting from long term relationships with grandparents,” the NCBI stated. “Furthermore, as it becomes more common for men to become parents in later adulthood, the current (relatively affluent) socioeconomic composition of older fathers will change, and therefore the relative socioeconomic advantages of having an older father are likely to diminish.”
According to them, some possible interventions may include the health promotion of suggesting to people about the risk of delaying childbearing or changes at a societal level such as family benefits and flexible working that could encourage couple to bear children at earlier ages.
“We are currently moving towards an era where a man's reproductive age is considered as important as the females; however, further work is required to elucidate the strength of these associations.” —