Whilst it is true that men, unlike women, are able to have children well into old age, new research by John McGrath at the University of Queensland has revealed that this seemingly fortunate ability may come at a price – the price of their children’s intelligence. McGrath and his colleagues analysed data on more than 33, 000 children in the United States at the progressive ages of 8 months, 4 years and 7 years. The study revealed that those children born to older fathers scored lower on a range of intelligence tests in the areas of memory, reasoning, concentration and reading skills. Interestingly enough, the study also revealed that those children born to older mothers, in fact, scored higher in comparison to those of younger mothers. Such a finding contradicts the previously held theory that children born to older parents are generally more intelligent due to social factors – in particular, better opportunities and better nurturing.
Scientists believe that this apparent abnormality may, in fact, be attributed to the age-related accumulation of genetic errors in the cells that produce sperm. Such a theory would also seemingly explain the increased rates of schizophrenia, autism, dyslexia and bipolar disorder evident in children of older fathers. Nonetheless, McGrath maintains "I don't think we have enough evidence to say that fathers should avoid parenthood after a certain age, but I think we do need to educate people that there are risks they didn't know about." It’s an interesting observation, especially considering the ever-rising age of the average parent.
For more information on this topic, check out: http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000040
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