The paternal age effect describes the influence that a father's age has on the chances of conferring a genetic defect to his offspring. Generally, older men have a greater probability of fathering children with a genetic defect than younger men do. This is seen as likely due to genetic copying errors which may increase in number after repeated spermatogenesis cycles over a man's lifetime.

Disorders correlated with paternal age

Achondroplasia (dwarfism); craniofacial disorders such as Apert syndrome and Crouzon Syndrome; mental retardation of unknown etiologies; autism; bipolar disorder; and 25% of schizophrenia cases are correlated with advanced paternal age.

Other disorders related to advanced paternal age are:

• Wilms' tumor
• Thanatophoric dysplasia
• Retinitis pigmentosa
• Osteogenesis imperfecta type IIA
• Acrodysostosis
• Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva
• Aniridia
• Bilateral retinoblastoma
• Multiple exostoses
• Marfan Syndrome
• Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
• Pfeiffer Syndrome
• Wardenburg Syndrome
• Treacher-Collins Syndrome
• Soto’s basal cell nevus
• Cleidocranial dysostosis
• Polyposis coli
• Oculodentodigital syndrome
• Costello syndrome
• Progeria
• Recklinghausen’s neurofibromatosis
• Tuberous sclerosis
• Polycystic kidney disease
• Hemophilia A
• Duchenne muscular dystrophy
• Athetoid Cerebral Palsy
• Dystonic Cerebral Palsy
• Congenital Hemiplegia
• Down syndrome
• Bipolar disorder

References

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• Bertram L, Busch R, Spiegl M, Lautenschlager NT, Müller U, Kurz A (1998). "Paternal age is a risk factor for Alzheimer disease in the absence of a major gene". Neuroscience 1 (4): 277–80.
• Sipos A, Rasmussen F, Harrison G, Tynelius P, Lewis G, Leon DA, Gunnell D (2004). "Paternal age and schizophrenia: a population based (sic) cohort study". BMJ Online
• DNA repair activity linked to paternal age effect. University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. .
• Bray I, Gunnell D, Smith GD (2006). "Advanced paternal age: How old is too old?". Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 60 851–3.
• Montgomery SM, Lambe M, Tomas O, Ekbom A (2004). "Paternal age, family size, and risk of multiple sclerosis". Epidemiology 15 (6): 717–23.
• Reichenberg A, Gross R, Weiser M, Bresnahan M, Silverman J, Harlap S, Rabinowitz J, Shulman C, Malaspina D, Lubin G, Knobler HY, Davidson M, Susser E (2006). "Advancing paternal age and autism". Archives of General Psychiatry 63 (9): 1026–32.
• Sanders L College scientist named Ellison Senior Scholar. University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts & Sciences. .
• Fisch H, Hyun G, Golden R, Hensle TW, Olsson CA, Liberson GL (2003). "The influence of paternal age on down syndrome (sic)". J Urol 169 (6): 2275–8.
• Rami B, Schneider U, Imhof A, Waldhör T, Schober E (1999). "Risk factors for type I diabetes mellitus in children in Austria". Eur J Pediatr 158 (5): 362–6.
• Singh NP, Muller CH, Berger RE (2003). "Effects of age on DNA double-strand breaks and apoptosis in human sperm". Fertility and sterility 80 (6): 1420–30.
• Lauritsen MB, Pedersen CB, Mortensen PB (2005). "Effects of familial risk factors and place of birth on the risk of autism: a nationwide register-based study". J Child Psychol Psychiatry 46 (9): 963–71.
• Wohl M, Gorwood P (2007). "Paternal ages below or above 35 years old are associated with a different risk of schizophrenia in the offspring". Eur Psychiatry 22 (1): 22–6.
• Schizophrenia Research Forum: Current Hypotheses. .
• Choi J-Y, Lee K-M, Park SK, Noh D-Y, Ahn S-H, Yoo K-Y, Kang D (2005). "Association of paternal age at birth and the risk of breast cancer in offspring: a case control study". BMC Cancer 5 143.
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• Croen LA, Najjar DV, Fireman B, Grether JK (2007). "Maternal and paternal age and risk of autism spectrum disorders". Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 161 (4): 334–40.
• Tarin JJ, Brines J, Cano A (1998). "Long-term effects of delayed parenthood". Human Reproduction 13 (9): 2371–6.

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