‘Teenage Mums, Older Parents & Couples With Large Age Gaps More Likely To Have A Child With Autism’ – Study

A new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry has revealed teenage mothers, women over 40, as well as parents with a relatively large gap between their ages are more likely to have children with autism.

The study, the largest ever examining parental age and autism, involved more than 5.7 million children in five countries.

It also confirmed that older parents are at higher risk of having children with autism, as other studies have shown previously.

Fathers over 50 saw the greatest increase in the risk of their child developing the condition.

Previous research has shown older fathers have genetic mutations in their sperm that could cause autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).

However, researchers cannot explain why teenage mothers, older mothers and couples with gaps in their ages have an increased chance of their child developingthe condition.

Co-author Michael Rosanoff, director of public health research at Autism Speaks (an organisation that sponsors research and raises awareness of autism), said: ‘Though we’ve seen research on autism and parental age before, this study is like no other. By linking national health registries across five countries, we created the world’s largest data set for research into autism’s risk factors. The size allowed us to look at the relationship between parents’ age and autism at a much higher resolution – under a microscope, if you will.’

Co-author Dr Sven Sandin, of the Icahn School of Medicine in New York, said: ‘Although parental age is a risk factor for autism, it is important to remember that, overall, the majority of children born to older or younger parents will develop normally.’

The researchers found autism rates were 66 per cent higher among children born to fathers more than 50 years old than among those born to fathers in their 20s, and they were 28 per cent higher when fathers were in their 40s, compared to in their 20s.

Source: DailyMail