Logo image
Back
Autism risk associated with parental age and with increasing difference in age between the parents
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Autism risk associated with parental age and with increasing difference in age between the parents

S Sandin, D Schendel, P Magnusson, C Hultman, P Surén, E Susser, T Grønborg, M Gissler, N Gunnes, R Gross, …
Molecular psychiatry, v 21(5), pp 693-700
01 May 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2015.70
PMID: 26055426
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2015.70View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Adolescent Adult Aged Autistic Disorder - epidemiology Cohort Studies Denmark Female Humans Israel Logistic Models Male Maternal Age Middle Aged Norway Paternal Age Registries Risk Risk Factors Sex Factors Sweden Western Australia Young Adult
Advancing paternal and maternal age have both been associated with risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the shape of the association remains unclear, and results on the joint associations is lacking. This study tests if advancing paternal and maternal ages are independently associated with ASD risk and estimates the functional form of the associations. In a population-based cohort study from five countries (Denmark, Israel, Norway, Sweden and Western Australia) comprising 5 766 794 children born 1985-2004 and followed up to the end of 2004-2009, the relative risk (RR) of ASD was estimated by using logistic regression and splines. Our analyses included 30 902 cases of ASD. Advancing paternal and maternal age were each associated with increased RR of ASD after adjusting for confounding and the other parent's age (mothers 40-49 years vs 20-29 years, RR=1.15 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-1.24), P-value<0.001; fathers⩾50 years vs 20-29 years, RR=1.66 (95% CI: 1.49-1.85), P-value<0.001). Younger maternal age was also associated with increased risk for ASD (mothers <20 years vs 20-29 years, RR=1.18 (95% CI: 1.08-1.29), P-value<0.001). There was a joint effect of maternal and paternal age with increasing risk of ASD for couples with increasing differences in parental ages. We did not find any support for a modifying effect by the sex of the offspring. In conclusion, as shown in multiple geographic regions, increases in ASD was not only limited to advancing paternal or maternal age alone but also to differences parental age including younger or older similarly aged parents as well as disparately aged parents.

Metrics

10 Record Views
194 citations in Web of Science
203 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Neurosciences
Psychiatry
Logo image