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.

safety consultants…

The most well known of these is histamine. Histamine is released by special immune cells (mast cells) during allergic reactions and is responsible for most of the classical allergy symptoms due to its inflammatory effects. It’ s less well known however…

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.