Bipolar Risk
Seen for Kids
Of Older Dads
Associated Press
September 2, 2008
CHICAGO -- Children born to older fathers face a greater chance of developing bipolar disorder, according to one of the largest studies linking mental illness with advanced paternal age.
Previous research has connected schizophrenia and autism with older dads, and a Danish study published last year added bipolar disorder to the list. The new study led by researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institute strengthens the evidence.
The leading theory is that older men's sperm may be more likely to develop mutations. Even so, the odds of a person becoming bipolar are so low that the study's authors said it shouldn't dissuade older men from becoming fathers. The study, released Monday, appears in September's Archives of General Psychiatry.
Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings, from deep depression to manic highs. It affects more than five million Americans.
Researchers analyzed Swedish national registry data from more than 80,000 people, including 13,428 with bipolar disorder who were born between 1932 and 1991.
The risks started increasing around age 40 but were strongest among those 55 and older. Children born to these dads were 37% more likely to develop bipolar disorder than those born to men in their 20s. The age of the mothers didn't appear to be much of a factor.
These children also faced more than double the risk of developing bipolar disorder before age 20. Scientists call that early onset disease, and while they have long known that bipolar disorder tends to run in families, early onset disease has been thought to be most strongly linked with genetics.
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