Aging dads more likely to have kids with autism, ADHD, schizophrenia and more
Years ago, doctors were mostly concerned with how a child's health would be affected the longer a mom delayed birth. Now, a father's age may be a big factor.
Dads who wait until age 45 to have a child may face a significantly increased risk their offspring may have mental health and academic problems including autism, ADHD, schizophrenia, suicidal ideation, low IQ scores and failing grades.
Researchers examined all births that happened in Sweden between 1973 and 2001, and
found a child born to a 45-year-old dad was 25 times more likely to have bipolar disorder, 13 times more likely to have ADHD, 3.5 times more likely to have autism, 2.5 times more likely to exhibit suicidal behavior or a substance abuse problem, and twice as likely to have a psychotic disorder like schizophrenia when compared to kids born to a 24-year-old father.
That's in addition to the increased risk for academic problems.
"We were shocked by the findings," study author Dr. Brian D'Onofrio, an associate professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences at Indiana University Bloomington, said in a statement.
It presents a worrisome public health risk, given that
the average age for childbearing has been on the rise in the past 40 years for both men and women. On average, U.S. married men are about 25.6 years old when they have their first child, compared to 22.5 for single men, according to government statistics. The researchers said fathers in the northeast tend to be older than elsewhere in the country.
For most of the mental health risks identified by researchers, the likelihood for disorders increased steadily the older a dad got, which means there isn't one particular age threshold that a dad should aim to stay under.
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