Child health problems 'linked to father's age'

[xchrom]

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26355415



***SNIP

The researchers looked at 2.6 million people and at the difference between siblings born to the same father as it accounts for differences in upbringing between families.

Comparing children of a 45-year-old dad to those of a 24-year-old father it indicated:

autism was more than three times as likely

a 13-fold increased risk of ADHD

double the risk of a psychotic disorder

25 times more likely to have bipolar disorder

2.5 times more likely to have suicidal behaviour or problems with drugs
lower scores at school

[My Good Babushka]

1. Evidence that our societies need to do more to support young families

Let them start families in financial security, stop saddling them with educational debt. Quit finger-wagging at young people who have children before they have made their first million, the science is on their side. We have to have a society and an economy that works for the species as it exists, we can't bend nature to fit the greedy schemes of the few.

[JustAnotherGen]

2. Interesting

When you get sucked into the Fertility Industrial Complex one of the first things they do is test both partners for genetic failings. A friend of mine in our group of women had to use a sperm donor because her 50 year old husband wasn't cutting the mustard. I wonder if those who get pregnat without A.R.T. might want to consider that battery of tests?

[exboyfil]

3. I often wonder why a 45 year old man would want to have children

The procedure for preventing it is very simple and not that painful. I have no regrets except possibly having it done earlier (my wife was holding out hope for a 3rd but two wonderful daughters was enough for me).

[A Little Weird]

4. People are putting off having kids because they are unaffordable

I'm sure there are a lot of reasons that people delay parenthood. I have a friend that's 40ish (not sure exact age). He very much wants to be a father but he is just now getting to a point where he feels like he can afford to have kids. He was trying to be responsible and not start a family he couldn't support but now he's worried he's missed his chance.

I'm (a woman) in a similar situation. Even now I'm not sure I could afford a kid. I don't think people recognize that the decimation of the middle class is contributing to these kind of issues but it is definitely a factor in my circle of friends.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. My husband

Didn't even meet me until he was 40.

Why should he have had kids at 34 - just to have kids at 34 - with the woman he came home to a former friend pile driving in his bed?

Life and love and relationships are messy -

Some of us have to wait a bit longer than others - but are rewarded with an enriching and beautiful love. It wasn't a 'next natural step' - it was a proactive choice that we honor every day with an act of will.

You are very lucky to have missed out on broken hearts, failure, false starts, dashed hopes and the joy of dating. But not everyone was just 'lucky' - some of us actually had to work really hard and take a lot of twists and turns, and hard rights on two wheels to meet the one person we could spend the rest of our lives with.

The irony of that is - you may want children.
And you may not be able to HAVE children.

But you picked your mate as a self actualized independent adult who has had broad life experience -so you don't need the 'cement' of children anyways the way some younger couples do to keep them together. Sometimes - well - love is enough.

[exboyfil]

6. All good points

My oldest just turned 18 and my youngest is 16. I am 50. I could not imagine being 60. My wife and I tried three years before having our first. I wish I had them five years earlier, but like, others have noted, I was not in the financial position at the time.

My comments were self centered.

[JustAnotherGen]

7. They weren't - look in here!

The reality is - that Adrienne (my real name) and The Gio (what I call my husband) at 28 and 32 would have died with our hands around each others necks - choking the other to death. Not because we are violent - but because we were both so damn full of ourselves 13 years ago that NO Good would have come out of that relationship!

On time and in time - and our paths take us in different directions.

However all that said - I do think that couples who don't need A.R.T. should consider genetic testing. I never would have known I as a carrier for Sickle Cell without it - and my husband is a carrier of a Mediterranean Sickle Cell. The two can't combine and combust together - but it's important information for the nieces and nephews on both sides of our family to have.

[SheilaT]

8. And what exactly do those number mean?

13-fold increase? Against what baseline?

And so on.

This is sort of like the studies that show consuming some specific food results in a huge reduction in some obscure disease, that the risk of is very low to begin with.

The only good thing about this study is that it does shift the blame for various things from the older mother to the older father. Meaning, both parents do contribute to the genetics of the children.

Personally, I had my two kids when I was 34 and 38. When I was pregnant with the second one my OB was not happy that I wouldn't do testing for Down's Syndrome. While I would NEVER suggest someone else at that age not test, I did not feel the need to. I was willing to live with the possibility of Down's. As it happens, kid was as normal as any kid ever is. Also, at age 38 the risk of Down's was still relatively low. However, I'll repeat that my choice is not necessarily what others would choose.

The age at which you have children is highly personal. My own biases lead me to believe that having kids slightly later is a good thing. But that's my opinion. Someone who had their children much earlier is likely to think that's the best choice. No matter what age any of us reproduce, there needs to be good support for kids and parents.