By Rita Rubin
WebMD Health News
Dec. 2, 2014 -- Guys, that ticking you hear might be your biological clock.
As women age, fertility wanes, and the risk of genetic problems in their babies increases. Now, a growing body of research suggests that middle-aged men might be more likely to father children with mental health problems, as well as rare genetic disorders, such as the most common type of dwarfism. The findings are mixed.
For example, a recent study of Swedes born between 1973 and 2001 found that those born to fathers 45 and older were more likely to have a variety of brain and nervous system conditions -- such as autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and ADHD -- because of an increase in mutations in older men’s sperm. Also, children of older fathers were more likely to get bad grades in school, do drugs, and attempt suicide.
But scientists stress that even if “advanced paternal age” -- a vague term that applies to men who father children at 45 or older -- doubles or triples the likelihood of a particular health problem in offspring, the actual risk is still quite low.
“It should be on their [men’s] radar, but it’s not recommended that people do anything crazy like freezing sperm or not having kids at those ages,” says Alan Brown, MD, MPH. He's a professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at Columbia University.
Brown published a study last year that, unlike the study of Swedes, found no link between a father’s age at conception and a child’s risk of bipolar disorder.
And yet, says fertility specialist Paul Turek, MD, perhaps a half-dozen healthy young men schedule appointments with him each year to discuss banking their sperm for use years or even decades down the road.
"I just had another one come in,” says Turek, who has offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and, in his mid-50s, has two daughters, ages 11 and 6. These young men are “planners. They want everything in order. They like insurance. They like to get everything in place for the future. The research tends to scare them.”
He says even after he points out to them that the research isn’t conclusive and that plenty of older men father healthy children, some still decide their peace of mind is worth the cost of banking their sperm -- about $500-$1,000 to open an account and $250-$500 a year thereafter.
source : Should Men Worry About Being Too Old to Have Kids?
