Babies of older fathers are more likely to have health problems

How great is the influence of the age of fathers on the health of their babies?

Does a father's age affect the health of babies? Researchers now found that babies of older fathers tend to have more medical problems than babies of younger men.

Stanford University researchers found in their current research that babies of older fathers are more likely to have health problems. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "British Medical Journal" (BMJ).

Which health risks were increased?

For their study, Stanford University experts reviewed various health protocols that were associated with all live births between 2007 and 2016. The data included records of 40 million babies. The analysis found that children conceived by fathers over the age of 45 had a 14 percent higher risk of premature birth, low birth weight, and stay in the neonatal intensive care unit than children compared to children of younger fathers.

Increased risk of seizures noted

If children are fathered by fathers over the age of 45, they are lower in the Apgar neonatal health test, and they are 18 percent more likely to experience seizures compared to infants of fathers aged 25 to 34 years , In women, the risk of gestational diabetes was increased if they had children with older men.

Further effects for babies from older fathers

Although the increased risks were relatively small, couples should not ignore their father's age when planning a family, says study author Professor Michael Eisenberg of the Stanford University School of Medicine. After evaluating the age of the mother and other factors such as education and smoking, the researchers found that children were born to men over the age of 45, on average around one day earlier. Affected children were about 20 g lighter compared to children of younger fathers.

Parents always have children later

The impact of the small increase in health risks on the affected children was important because the age of their parents is increasing. For example, in England and Wales, the average age of first-borns has increased by about a year per decade over the last 40 years.

Is the DNA of older fathers the explanation for the problems?

Professor Eisenberg and his colleagues suggest that changes in the DNA of elderly men may explain their results. The concern is supported by previous work, including a Harvard study from last year, which found that fertility rates in IVF (Artificial Fertilization in the Laboratory) births declined as fathers grew older.

Further explanations for the observed effects

Critics of the study warned in a commentary on the study that DNA damage in older men's sperm is just one possible explanation for its effects. Studies have shown that the advanced age of patients is associated with negative health behaviors such as smoking and frequent alcohol consumption, obesity, chronic illness, mental illness and fertility, writes author Hilary Brown of the University of Toronto Scarborough. These factors are all related to neonatal health issues. (As)