Stanford University research reveals that babies born to men over 35 face serious health risks

RECENT findings by researchers at California's Stanford University has revealed that babies born to fathers of the age of 35 and over face increased health risks that include low birth weight and seizures.

 

In the latest controversial findings from Stanford, one of the world's leading teaching and research institutions, a study claimed that the older a father’s age, the greater the risk to a child. According to the paper published in the journal BMJ, babies born to fathers of an advanced paternal age, which roughly equates to older than 35, are at a higher risk for adverse birth outcomes.

 

This latest study, based on data from more than 40m births, also suggested that the age of the father can sway the health of the mother during pregnancy, specifically her risk for developing diabetes. In addition, the data revealed that once a dad hits age 35, there is a slight increase in birth risks overall as with every year that a man ages, he accumulates on average two new mutations in the DNA of his sperm.

 

It revealed that for example, men who are 45 or older are 14% more likely to have a child born prematurely and men 50 or older are 28% more likely to have a child that requires admission to the neonatal intensive care unit. Researchers organised data based on the fathers’ age, using the categories of younger than 25, 25 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 55 and older than 55, making adjustments for mothers’ age, maternal smoking, race, education and other factors.

 

Also, the research found that the risk of gestational diabetes for pregnant women also increases in line with the age of the father. Women carrying the child of a man aged 55 years or older have a 34% higher odds of gestational diabetes the research revealed.

 

Researchers noted that this was an observational but not a cause-and-effect study and the overall absolute risks of these outcomes still remained low, so fathers do not have to change their original life plan. In their findings, they emphasised the importance of including men in pre-conception care.

Share