Father's Age May Increase Risk of Autism

Children born to older fathers are more likely to have autism than those with younger dads according to a new study reported on foxnews.com (click the post title to read the article).

Children of 40- to 49-year old dads are nearly six times more likely to have autism than children of men under 30, and 1 1/2 times more likely to exhibit the mental disorder than children fathered by men ages 30 to 39, regardless of the mother's age.

A developmental disorder that impairs the ability to socialize and communicate, autism generally emerges by age 3 and is often characterized by repetitive behaviors. The incidence of autism has increased dramatically in the last 20 years, from 5 to 50 cases per 10,000 children.

Researchers studied the medical records of 300,000 17-year-olds collected by Israeli draft boards in the 1980s. The study was conducted by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, Columbia University, and Israeli institutions including Chaim Sheba Medical Center and Hebrew University and was published in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

Previous studies have indicated that children born to older parents have a greater risk of developmental problems. Sperm mutations associated with aging can increase the risk of brain abnormalities in children with older fathers. Many researchers believe autism is either caused or triggered by impaired or abnormal genes.

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