How to make the public take seriously the sometimes disasterous results of late fathering?
October 26, 2006 2:21 PM   Subscribe

Average paternal age is increasing and there is growing evidence of the detrimental effects on the offspring, such as risk of schizophrenia, autism, cancers and (longevity for female offspring). I'd like it to be common knowledge that the male biological clock runs down significantly around the age of 35. How can I get people to take this very seriously and know that epidemiologists and geneticists have been recommending that families try to complete their childbearing before age 40. Ideally by35.

There is so much suffering in the affected offspring. They have no voice. Sperm DNA from a 50 year old father has been copied more than 800 times. Egg cells from a mother only undergo a few dozen divisions all together. That is why new mutations are introduced in proportion to paternal age. A man 25-29 has a 3.5 risk of a schizophrenic offspring and a 50+ man has an 11.4 risk.
posted by leyna howe to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: this is not a question, it is a personal rant.

 
prove it -- then they'll take you seriously
posted by gadha at 2:22 PM on October 26, 2006


What's the question exactly?

Are you asking whether you should run an ad campaign or...?
posted by vacapinta at 2:24 PM on October 26, 2006


Best answer: Is there some way to get that info into magazines? I would think women's magazines would want to run articles on that topic, and women would certainly tell the men in their lives that they aren't the only ones with a ticking clock.
posted by Amizu at 2:25 PM on October 26, 2006


Are you a scientist? A doctor? Or some kind of interested bystander?
posted by miss tea at 2:27 PM on October 26, 2006


A man 25-29 has a 3.5 risk of a schizophrenic offspring and a 50+ man has an 11.4 risk.

What do these numbers mean? 3.5 what?
posted by matthewr at 2:28 PM on October 26, 2006


... recommending that families try to complete their childbearing before age 40. Ideally by 35.

Not to turn this into a debate, but I would make sure all the strong claims you make, like the quote above, are backed up by suitable evidence. This letter in Science suggests that most fathers who reproduce before 45 should not be worried.

Title: When Fatherhood Should Stop?
Author(s): Leonid A. Gavrilov; Natalia S. Gavrilova
Source: Science, New Series, Vol. 277, No. 5322. (Jul. 4, 1997),
pp. 17-18.
Stable URL: here (via JSTOR)

Also, leyna, every single one of your AskMe answers and Mefi comments is on this issue. AskMe is for genuine questions, not 'getting the word out'.
posted by matthewr at 2:39 PM on October 26, 2006


I would start with a comprehensive study published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Maybe move on to a PR/media campaign from there.
posted by GuyZero at 2:40 PM on October 26, 2006


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