Risk Of Developing Autism Among Children Linked To Father’s Age

Risk Of Developing Autism Among Children Linked To Father’s Age

Researchers discovered that aside from increasing the risk of developing autism among children of men who are past the age of 50, the same risk is also linked to their grandchildren.

Older men have a bigger chance of having autistic grandchildren compared to men who had children while they were in their 20s, the study made at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden indicated. According to Emma Frans, lead researcher of the study, the risk of developing autism among grandchildren will increase further if the sons of the older men will also have children when they are old.

A survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that around two percent of school age children in the US have autism. This is equivalent to at least one million autistic children.

The research studied data from the patient registries of Sweden. The registries dated as far back as 1932 and included information about the grandparents of around 37,000 children. Six thousand of these children were diagnosed to have autism. Earlier studies have indicated that although parents who have children at an older age will likely have children who at risk of developing autism, it also showed that a generation may be skipped altogether.

Since the reproductive cells of men are likely to mutate, their role in autism development is significant. The reproductive cells of men reach 600 once they are already in their forties as compared to the 24 times that the reproductive cells of women would divide. Every time the cell divides, it increases the risk of something going wrong such as the risk of developing autism.

Although the research is important, it should not discourage parents from having children when they become older.

The research was based on data instead of experimentations, which means the correlation can be identified even as the cause may not be identifiable.

The age of the parents cannot be controlled, although it would be helpful if the children know what age their parents were when they were born. This will give them an idea on the risk of developing autism when they have children and grandchildren.

Posted by George Daniels on Friday March 22 2013, 3:51 AM EST. Ref: ABC News. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0