A study published in this month’s General Archives of Psychiatry entitled “Advancing Paternal Age and Bipolar Disorder,” reports that children of older fathers have a higher risk of developing bipolar disorder than children of younger fathers. This is a large study, and the data are quite strong. Fathers age 40 and older show some increased risk of having a child with bipolar disorder, but the risk really grows with fathers ages 55 and older.
Advancing paternal age has been associated with some other conditions, including autism and schizophrenia. I’ll let others explain why this is so. The question is this: How do the results of this study help us?
The researchers are careful to point out that the results of the study shouldn’t discourage older men from having children. Although the risk of having a child who eventually develops bipolar increases with a father’s age, it is still very low. In other words, the results shouldn’t have too much influence on family planning.
The study doesn’t provide us with a lot of information useful in clinical practice, either. However, when evaluating individuals for depression and the possibility of bipolar disorder, doctors may want to include a question about how old the patient’s father was when the patient was born. Although this information may not be tremendously useful in guiding a diagnosis, it could be an interesting part of the whole picture of a patient’s illness.
This study also reinforces the biological nature of the roots of bipolar disorder – demonstrating a particular biological risk factor in the risks of someone developing this condition. Proof of a genetic link is always useful in convincing those who still need convincing that bipolar is a medical condition requiring medical treatment.
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I do not agree that the results of this and many other studies on paternal age and effects on offspring lead to a there is little risk conclusion. Cancers, autoimmune disorders, as well as neurodevelopmental disorders and birth defects all increase with the fathers age. Added all up, men should aim to father their babies in their 20s to very early 30s and stop. Many preventable tragedies are the result of older paternal age.
Two points about this study:
1) Did it account for environmental factors of having an older father? For example, were the older fathers in the study more or less involved with their children? Are older fathers more likely to be ill or pass away during the child’s early years increasing the stress level in the home? Were these older fathers more likely to be divorced?
2) The idea here seems to be that because men produce sperm through cell division, the latest generation of sperm in an older father is more likely to have a genetic mutation. Because women are stocked up at a very early age with all the eggs they’ll ever need, the eggs are not susceptible to such mutations. However, eggs do age. As a result, there are marked increases in birth defects in children born to women over 40 years old. Les’s advice on having babies in your 20s to early 30s is probably the safest route.
I am a child of an older father. He was 57 when I was born. I’ve had many nervous problems over the years. I’ve had depression, anxiety, panic attacks, fears of all kinds all my life. I’m now 64 and wonder if I will ever have a normal life, whatever that is.
Similar to Ruby Rae, my dad was 63 when I was born. I suffer from depression, anxiety and panic attacks and have done since childhood (I’m now 32). I am currently being treated for depression, but have a suspicion that it may be bipolar - a lot of the traits ring true, but I am fortunate enough not to suffer from outright mania.
However, I can back up Joe Kraynak’s point about environmental factors. My Dad died when I was 16 after a long illness, and this was one of the major factors in triggering my first bout of major depression. It seems likely that this will be far more common amongst the subjects of this study compared to a representative sample of children of younger dads.
Nonetheless, its an interesting outcome.
My dad was in his late fifties when I was born. I don’t have bipolar disorder nor depression. My daughter is bipolar and so are some other relatives on my mothers side. None of the relatives on my fathers side have any mental disorders. I don’t understand why that would have anything to do with mental disorders.
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