Revealed: why children of older men are more likely to have health problems
Oxford study identifies mutant cells affecting sperm
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Scientists may have discovered the reason why older men are at greater risk than younger men of fathering a child who develops serious health problems such as congenital deformities, autism, or schizophrenia.
Researchers at Oxford University have found that older men are more likely to harbour a rare form of testicular tumour which may also cause genetic mutations in the DNA of their children, who inherit the faults through their father's sperm. Professor Andrew Wilkie, who led the study published in the journal Nature Genetics, said that clumps of tumour-producing cells form in the testicular tissue which produces the "germ cells" that give rise to sperm.
"We think most men develop these tiny clumps of mutant cells in their testicles as they age. They are rather like moles in the skin, usually harmless in themselves," Professor Wilkie said. "But by being located in the testicle, they also make sperm, causing children to be born with a variety of serious conditions."
Professor Wilkie said that the latest study, which was funded by the Wellcome Trust, could help to explain the origin of several serious conditions affecting children, including achondroplasia, which is commonly known as dwarfism, as well as stillbirths.
The work may also help scientists to find the many genes that are involved in common diseases where there is a strong genetic component, such as autism and schizophrenia.
Until recently, it was assumed that only women have to worry about having children in later life but a number of studies in the past decade have shown that as the quality of a man's sperm decreases with age, the risk of him fathering a child with serious health problems increases.
The overall risk for an older father of having a child with a birth defect is estimated to be about 4 per cent, compared with a "background" risk of about 3 per cent. One study carried out in Israel suggested that men who became fathers at the age of 40 or older were nearly six times as likely to have a child with autism compared with men younger than 30 when they became fathers.
Research into schizophrenia suggests that the risk of the illness doubled among the children of older fathers compared with the children of men who became fathers in their 20s.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments