People are having children later in life for a variety of reasons. Many want to get their careers established or pursue a more advanced degree, while others want to travel and enjoy life as a married couple before making the commitment to become a parent. While there are certain advantages to having children at a later age, there may be disadvantages from a health standpoint. While most of the health risks have focused on the older mom, it seems that children of older fathers may also be at risk for health problems.

What Are the Risks?

A study published in PLOS Medicine showed that children of older fathers may be at a higher risk for several developmental problems including autism and dyslexia, as well as decreased intellectual function. To show this association, researchers tested 33,437 children using a variety of standardized tests measuring neurological and intellectual function. Children were tested at three different ages, eight months, four years, and seven years of age. It was found that children of older fathers performed worse on these tests of intellectual ability than those of younger fathers, although the differences were small.

Children of older fathers have also been found in previous studies to have an increased risk of schizophrenia. Dads in their forties have twice the risk of fathering a child with schizophrenia and the risk is even higher after age fifty when the risk triples. One study also linked children of older fathers with a higher risk of bipolar disorder. A variety of genetic disorders have also been associated with advanced paternal age, including Down’s syndrome.

Why Are Children of Older Fathers More Prone to Health Problems?

As a man ages, he’s more likely to develop mutations in his chromosomes, or genetic material, which can be transmitted to the offspring, giving rise to a range of health issues from genetic diseases such as Down’s syndrome to developmental problems like autism. It appears that a man’s genetic material ages right along with the rest of his body.

What About Maternal Age?

Despite the results of these studies, it still appears that the mother’s age is more important when it comes to the risk of genetic problems. Up to one percent of the babies born to mothers in their forties are afflicted with Down’s syndrome.

What’s the Bottom Line?

Children of older fathers and older mothers appear to be at a higher risk of health problems, a fact that should be considered when planning a family.