Autism and Dad's Age

While many women over the age of 35 worry about their biological clock ticking, it appears that there is a significantly higher risk of a common disorder in children born to older fathers. Research published in the Archives of General Psychiatry has linked autism to fathers over the age of 40. Autism is a condition in which children between 3-10 are noted to have awkward social interactions, communication abilities, patterns of interest, and patterns of behavior. Those with the condition can have varying degrees of symptoms. Autism spectral disorder can be thought of as a continuum, with frank autism on the severe side, and those with Asperger's syndrome on the mild side. The researchers conducted a population-based cohort study using data from the Israeli draft board medical registry. They analyzed the data of both the fathers? and mothers? age at the time of the baby's birth in over 300,000 subjects. The investigators noted that between 6 to 8 people out of every 10,000 had an autism spectrum disorder. The researchers demonstrated that those born to fathers who were over the age of 40 were 6 times more likely to have this condition, when compared to those under the age of 30. The possible mechanisms for the increase risk autism in those born to older dads, are mutations, structural chromosomal aberrations in the father's germline or imprinting. Imprinted genes play a key role in brain development and autism. The researchers acknowledged their study was limited due to lower number of autism cases. The data suggest that older fathers are more likely to have autistic children than younger dads.