My father was eleven years older than my mother. In their era, women sought older men who were better established to be able to support a family. It seems that our society has readily accepted older men with younger families for generations. We are now seeing that science trumps all that acceptance.
All over the news is a new study about sperm in older men. “Mental Illness Risk Higher for Children of Older Fathers, Study Finds,” by Benedict Cary, in the New York Times, February 26, 2014 leads off with:
Children born to middle-aged men are more likely than those born to younger fathers to develop any of a range of mental difficulties, including attention deficits, bipolar disorder, autism and schizophrenia, according to the most comprehensive study to date of paternal age and offspring mental health.
In recent years, scientists have debated based on mixed evidence whether a father’s age is linked to his child’s vulnerability to individual disorders like autism and schizophrenia. Some studies have found strong associations, while others have found weak associations or none at all.
. . . .Compared with the children of young fathers, aged 20 to 24, those born to men age 45 and older had about twice the risk of developing psychosis, the signature symptom of schizophrenia; more than three times the likelihood of receiving a diagnosis of autism; and about 13 times the chance of having a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder. Children born to older fathers also tended to struggle more with academics and substance abuse.
So, it seems that men, like women, have a biological clock, because of random mutations in sperm over time, to worry about:
The researchers say that any increased risk due solely to paternal age is most likely a result of the accumulation of genetic mutations in sperm cells. Unlike women, who age with a limited number of eggs, men have to replenish their supply of sperm cells. Studies suggest that the cells’ repeated reproductions lead to the accumulation of random errors over time, called de novo mutations. Most such mutations are harmless, geneticists say, but some have been linked to mental disorders.
It seems that a child born to a father age 45 or older is three and half times more likely to be diagnosed with autism and more than thirteen times more likely to have ADHD. This Grandma was wondering why the numbers of autistic children and the numbers of children diagnosed with ADHD seem to have sky rocketed in recent times.
What does this mean for grandmas? Science speaks volumes. We do not want our children to have grandchildren too young, and now we do not want them to have children when they are too old either. Or at least we should consider recommending freezing of eggs and sperm earlier than later!
If we have grandchildren who have fathers age 45 or over, the grandchildren should surely be watched medically.
Let’s see if society is finally going to recognize older means grand parenting, not parenting. Who wants to get up with a baby in the middle of the night at any age anyway?
Joy,
Mema
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