More and more men are choosing to become fathers at older ages, but this decision can have unexpected consequences for the health of their children. A new US study shows that newborns whose fathers are over 50 have a significantly higher risk of experiencing health problems at birth, such as premature birth or needing admission to neonatal intensive care.
More and more men are choosing to become fathers at older ages. PHOTO by Pixabay
The reasons for this trend are unclear, but urologist Albert Ha of Stanford University, USA, and colleagues note that it is often attributed to “diminished concerns regarding the “biological clock“masculine and the desire for educational and financial stability before starting a family,” according to sciencealert.com
A 2018 study identified many of the risks of mature fatherhood, using data from 2007 to 2016 on more than 40 million live births in the US.
The data showed that babies born to fathers over the age of 35 were at higher risk of developing adverse problems such as low birth weight, seizures and breathing problems soon after birth.
And the older a father was, the greater the risk. For a man aged 45 or older, the baby could be 14% more likely to be born prematurely, and for a man aged 50 or older, the risk rises to 28%.
Researchers analyzed the more than 46 million births reported in the US from 2011 to 2022 and found that the average paternal age rose steadily from 30.8 years in 2011 to 32.1 years in 2022, and the proportion of births involving fathers aged 50 or older increased from 1.1 percent in 2011 to 1.3 percent in 2022. It’s a small but significant increase, say the study’s authors.
“Paternal age also affected fertility, pregnancy trajectory and child health“, the authors write.
“Age-related conditions such as erectile dysfunction and hypogonadism affect paternal fecundity, while advanced age is associated with decreased sperm volume, motility and morphology“.
Research has also linked older paternal age to lower sperm quality, meaning the small bundles of genes that contribute half of a child’s DNA are more likely to be affected by DNA fragmentation, abnormal numbers of chromosomes, new mutations and epigenetic changes.
“Overall, the accumulation of alterations in older men may increase the risk of conditions such as autism, pediatric cancers, achondroplasia, and schizophrenia, decrease the likelihood of ART success, and increase the risk of perinatal complications“, the authors write.
This research is published by JAMA Network Open.
