Older parents likely to have autistic child

Advanced maternal and paternal age is a risk factor for having a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A number of studies have looked at the impact of maternal age on autism, but the results have been inconsistent. Paternal age has been much less studied. Researchers from the Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California found a link between advanced parental age and autism, although the effect on risk was small.The study involved all singleton children who were born at Kaiser Permanente between 1995 and 1999. Of the children studied, 593 were later diagnosed with an ASD and 132,251 were not. With each 10-year increase in the mothers' age the ASD risk rose by 31 percent, while for 10-year increments in the fathers' age it went up by 28 percent. Compared with parents between 25 and 29 years of age, mothers and fathers who were 40 years of age or older were 27 percent and 52 percent more likely, respectively, to have a child with an ASD. The link between advanced parental age and ASD risk was stronger for girls than for boys, but the association was not statistically significant.The findings are not surprising given the previous reports supporting a link and the fact that a number of childhood diseases are associated with advanced parental age. The findings also support having children at a younger age.