Older dads Mental risk for children

The age of the fathers plays a greater role in children's mental illness than previously thought

28/02/2014

Children of older fathers have a high risk of mental illness. These include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and schizophrenia. There are also school problems. This was the result of a study by the Swedish Karolinska Institute in cooperation with the University of Indiana in the USA. Thus, the likelihood of developing bipolar disorder is more than 25-fold higher in children of older fathers compared to those with younger fathers.

Age of the fathers influences psyche of children
For their study, the researchers evaluated the data of 2.6 million Swedes from the birth cohorts between 1973 and 2001. It showed that people whose fathers were 45 years or older when they were born compared to children of fathers who were between 20 and 24 years old, are more than 25 times as likely to be at risk of bipolar disorder with depression and mania. According to the study, the risk of autism was "3.5 times greater, 13 times greater for ADHD, 2 times greater for psychotic disorders and 2.5 times greater for drug problems or suicidal ideation". Also, "the likelihood of academic problems such as bad grades and a lower intelligence quotient was increased according to the researchers".

„We were shocked by the results, "said Brian D'Onofrio, lead author of the study, in a statement from the University of Indiana. „The specific link to the age of the father was much, much larger than in previous studies. In fact, we have found that a high age of the father is associated with higher risks for various illnesses such as ADHD, suicide and drug problems, while traditional research has so far assumed that the father's increasing age is the speed with which these problems occur. reduced.“

In their statistical analysis, the researchers also considered factors such as parents' income and educational attainment. Both can mitigate the negative effects of old age, as older fathers are often more mature and financially better off than younger ones.

„The results of this study are more meaningful than many previous studies, "points out D'Onofrio, who has seen a steady increase in the age of childbearing over the past 40 years, while women in the United States gave birth to their first child in 1970, averaging 21.5 years. On average, they were only 25.6 years old in 2011. The average age of the fathers is three years higher than that of the women.The researchers published the results of their study in the journal „JAMA Psychiatry "(ag)