301-Studies Point to Ticking Male Biological Clock

A study published in Nature finds that the age at which a father sires children determines how many mutations those offspring inherit. By starting families in their thirties, forties and beyond, men could be increasing the chances that their children will develop autism, schizophrenia and other diseases often linked to new mutations. “The older we are as fathers, the more likely we will pass on our mutations,” says lead author Kári Stefánsson, chief executive of deCODE Genetics in Reykjavik. “The more mutations we pass on, the more likely that one of them is going to be deleterious.”

While most of these passed on mutations turn out to be harmless, Stefánsson’s team identified some that studies have linked to conditions such as autism and schizophrenia. According to Stefánsson and other geneticists, although the study does not prove that older fathers are more likely than younger ones to pass on disease-associated or other deleterious genes, that is the strong implication.

The Nature article cites more studies that reenforce this connection between a father’s age and the increased risk of autism in particular and that fathers are four times more likely than mothers to pass genetic mutations.

Will these studies have any effect on 21st century dating? Will they open a floodgate of men in their twenties and early thirties racing to stand under the wedding canopy and start families as soon as possible?

There are many reasons why I think men should not wait until their late thirties and beyond to marry. I don’t think the fear of passing on genetic mutations is one of them. According to experts cited in the NYTimes, the overall risk to a man in his forties or older is in the range of two percent, at most, and there are other contributing biological factors that are entirely unknown. I don’t think that’s a large enough risk percentage to influence a man’s decision to marry.