Father's age cited as key risk for autism
Source: Agencies |
August 24, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A father's age, not a mother's, when a baby is conceived is the single largest factor in the risk of passing on new gene mutations to children and may help explain why childhood autism rates are rising, scientists said.
Researchers sequenced the genomes of 78 Icelandic families with children diagnosed with autism or schizophrenia and found a father's age was crucial to the genetic risk.
"Conventional wisdom has been to blame developmental disorders of children on the age of mothers," said Kari Stefansson, chief executive of the private firm deCODE Genetics in Reykjavik, whose work was published in the journal Nature. "(But) our results all point to the possibility that as a man ages, the number of hereditary mutations in his sperm increases."
This age-linked increase in mutations proportionally increased the chance a child might carry a harmful mutation that could lead to conditions like autism and schizophrenia.
The study found an average of two more new gene mutations appeared in offspring for every year of increase in a father's age - meaning the number of new mutations passed on by fathers would double every 16.5 years from puberty onwards. But it was not possible to say at what age this could become a concern given so many other factors in the health of offspring.
Researchers sequenced the genomes of 78 Icelandic families with children diagnosed with autism or schizophrenia and found a father's age was crucial to the genetic risk.
"Conventional wisdom has been to blame developmental disorders of children on the age of mothers," said Kari Stefansson, chief executive of the private firm deCODE Genetics in Reykjavik, whose work was published in the journal Nature. "(But) our results all point to the possibility that as a man ages, the number of hereditary mutations in his sperm increases."
This age-linked increase in mutations proportionally increased the chance a child might carry a harmful mutation that could lead to conditions like autism and schizophrenia.
The study found an average of two more new gene mutations appeared in offspring for every year of increase in a father's age - meaning the number of new mutations passed on by fathers would double every 16.5 years from puberty onwards. But it was not possible to say at what age this could become a concern given so many other factors in the health of offspring.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
