Children born to middle-age fathers have a higher risk of psychiatric and academic problems, according to a recent study NBC News reported.
Researchers from Indiana University and Karolinska Institute in Stockholm found that older fathers have an increased risk of having children with mental health issues and learning disabilities than fathers between the ages of 20 and 24, NBC News reported.
In the past 40 years, the average age for childbearing has been increasing steadily for both men and women.
"The specific associations with paternal age were much, much larger than in previous studies," Brian D'Onofrio, lead author and associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Science at Indiana University at Bloomington, said in a statement.
D'Onofrio said researchers also found that advancing paternal age was associated with greater risk for several problems, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, suicide attempts and substance use problems; whereas traditional research designs suggested advancing paternal age may have diminished the rate at which these problems occur.
For the study, researchers analyzed medical and public records of about 2.6 million people born in Sweden from 1973 to 2001.
Compared with the children of the young fathers, ages 20 to 24, those born to men age 45 and older had about twice the risk of developing psychosis and more than three times the likelihood of receiving a diagnosis of autism. They also had 13 times the chance of having a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, The New York Times reported.
"While the findings do not indicate that every child born to an older father will have these problems, they add to a growing body of research indicating that advancing paternal age is associated with increased risk for serious problems," D'Onofrio said. "As such, the entire body of research can help to inform individuals in their personal and medical decision-making."
The findings were recently published in JAMA Psychiatry.
