Parental Age Tied to Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Children

Parental age may be strongly associated with certain neurodevelopment disorders in children, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP).//

The results of a new study reports that parental age is linked to the risk for the development of neuropsychiatric disorders in children, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD); attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); and Tourette's disorder/chronic tic disorder (TD/CT).

Parental Age Associated With Risk of Developing Autism Spectrum Disorder
Children born to older parents, teenage mothers and whose parents have a large gap between their ages are at an increased risk of developing ASD.

‘Younger parental age is significantly associated with risk for ADHD and Tourette's, whereas older parental age associated with Autism and obsessive-compulsive disorders.’
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Both young and old parental age, at conception, has previously shown an increased risk of several neuropsychiatric disorders in offspring, including ASD, ADHD and schizophrenia.

The study provides novel evidence about the connection between age at parenthood and risk for TD/CT and OCD in children, validating previously reported associations between younger parental age and ADHD, and older parental age and ASD.

"For the first time in a population-based sample, our research shows that parental age is connected to differential risks for pediatric-onset psychiatric disorders," said first author Magdalena Janecka, Ph.D., and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, New York, NY, US.

Adult Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Adult attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is a mental health condition in adults seen as hyperactivity, impulsiveness and reduced attention. ADHD impairs social, academic, neuropsychological and occupational behavior.

"These results are consistent with a model that includes shared and distinct risk architecture for childhood neuropsychiatric conditions and highlight that there are unique contributions of a parental age to risk in the children."

A team of researchers at the Tics and OCD Program at the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, both at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the University of Aarhus' Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH) performed a cross-diagnostic investigation of the effects of maternal and paternal ages at conception on childhood-onset neuropsychiatric conditions, using a large population-based sample.

Autism Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder typically characterized by impaired social and communication skills combined with repetitive movements.

The study cohort was made up of 1,490,745 individuals born in Denmark from 1980 through 2007, with detailed information on parental ages. The cohort was followed through December 2013. Cases of ASD, ADHD, OCD, and TD/CT were identified in the Danish Psychiatric Central Register and the National Patient Register.

Through these approaches, the investigators simultaneously examined the risk relationships between age at parenthood and several different psychiatric conditions in the offspring. They found that younger parental age was significantly associated with an increased risk for ADHD and TD/CT, whereas older parental age was associated with ASD and OCD.

Increased Risk of Early-onset Schizophrenia With Advanced Paternal Age
Advanced paternal age increases the risk of early-onset schizophrenia in offspring, a severe form of the disorder, reveals a study.

The study however also found that the increase in risk associated with parental age at conception is small and should not influence individuals' decisions on age to bear children.

According to Dr. Dorothy Grice, senior author and Director of the Tics and OCD Program at Mount Sinai, "We used a very large national cohort of 1.4 million children for this study and it allowed us more precision in examining the complex relationships between parental age and offspring risk for mental health conditions.

"Our study results will help guide the search for the specific mechanisms that affect risk for childhood psychiatric disorders."

Source-Eurekalert