DADDY ISSUES

Older Dads Put Children at Risk

For mental illness.

According to a new study from researchers at Indiana University, the children of older fathers are at a higher risk of developing mental illness than children born to younger fathers. Previously, advancing paternal age at childbearing (older father) has been tied to autism, schizophrenia, bipolarity, and new gene mutations. The study compared all people born in Sweden from 1973 to 2001, and compared children born to older fathers with their older siblings that were conceived when the father was younger. In addition to those previously mentioned, the results showed risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, psychosis, suicide attempts, substance abuse, and low educational attainment.