A recent study reveals that men have biological clocks too. Babies that are born with fathers less than 25 and older than 51 are at risk of developing autism and other learning disabilities.
Researchers revealed that men are also going through biological changes in terms of childbearing. Scientists at Mt. Sinai compiled the data of more than 15,000 kids ages four to sixteen. The researchers came across the results where it reveals that parental age can impact the child's social and mental development, according to Daily Mail.
Children born with fathers below 25 and over 51 are at risk of developing autism and poor communication skills. These children, however, are said to be more advanced than their peers during early childhood, as explained by the experts in Mt. Sinai in New York. These children may show advanced development during early childhood, but eventually slows down during their teenage years.
These findings are only related to the paternal link. The researchers were not able to find a link between the maternal age and the development of the child.
"Our results reveal several important aspects of how paternal age at conception may affect offspring," Dr. Janecka said, as mentioned by The Independent. "We observed those effects in the general population, which suggests children born to very young or older fathers may find social situations more challenging, even if they do not meet the diagnostic criteria for autism."
Children who are born with very young or very old fathers may not end up with autism, but most of them find social situations challenging. The researchers mention that part of their study's aim to discover the correlation between paternal age and the development of the offspring.
Identifying the neutral structures that are influenced by paternal age at the time of the conception is still being studied. Aside from autism, the researchers are also looking at schizophrenia and other learning disabilities linked to paternal age.
