Many people are choosing to become parents later in their lives. Whether it is due to financial reasons or due to difficulty conceiving, etc. However, many people bring up the ‘biological clock’ argument. While it is possible to have pregnancy later in life, there are some health implications, not just for the mother, but also for the child. Many people often place this responsibility on women. However, a new study shows that fathers who have children later in life may also risk passing down harmful mutations.New research shows that as men get older, their sperm collects harmful mutations, which can raise the risk of health issues in their children. Researchers in the UK studied sperm samples from 81 healthy men, ranging in age from 24 to 75. Using a highly accurate testing method, the team found that harmful changes, or mutations, build up in sperm over time. Simply put, the older a man is, the more his sperm’s genetic quality declines.How Does Old Sperm Affect Offspring's Health? The study identified over 40 genes that cause the sperm stem cells to mutate. This genetic process is known as "selfish sperm." What's most alarming is that these harmful mutations don't just accumulate; they are actually favored during the creation of new sperm. This means that sperm cells carrying the mutations multiply and out-compete the healthy sperm, leading to a higher proportion of damaged cells. This process can lead to a two to three times higher risk of passing on disease-causing mutations. The study measured the percentage of sperm carrying disease-causing mutations and found a clear increase with age: Early 30s (26–42 years): About 2% of sperm carried disease-causing mutations.Middle-Aged and Older (43–74 years): This percentage rises significantly to between 3% and 5%.The overall rate of accumulation was calculated to be about 1.67 new mutations every year.The research specifically suggests that the genetic quality of a man's sperm starts to decline noticeably around age 43.How Does Late Parenthood Affect Children? These mutated genes are linked to developmental disorders and inherited syndromes that can increase the risk of certain cancers. The mutations that increase most sharply as the father ages are connected to severe neurodevelopmental disorders in children, including some conditions on the autism spectrum. The study confirmed that specific rare genetic disorders, such as Apert, Noonan, and Costello syndromes, are rooted in this “selfish sperm” phenomenon.These findings are particularly important today because older fatherhood is becoming much more common. The number of fathers over the age of 40 nearly doubled between 1972 and 2015. This trend concerns the given related data: a recent analysis found that fathers over 40 had a 51% greater chance of having a child diagnosed with autism compared to fathers under 30. While these results highlight an increased risk that older fathers should be aware of, the researchers stress that more study is needed. They also point out that while the number of mutated sperm increases with age, not all of them will lead to a successful pregnancy, as some may prevent fertilization or cause miscarriage.
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