One study concluded that children of men who became a father after the age of 40 were 5.75 times more likely to have an autism disorder compared to

One study concluded that children of men who became a father after the age of 40 were 5.75 times more likely to have an autism disorder compared to those whose fathers were younger than 30.

When couples are experiencing difficulties achieving conception, it is equally important to review the health of the male partner as well as the female. Some studies have shown that as much as 68% of infertile couples are due to issues with male reproductive health.

When assessing our man’s reproductive potential, often semen analysis is required to determine viscosity, volume, clumping, sperm concentration, sperm count, sperm motility and sperm morphology. All these semen parameters can be affected by age, poor nutritional status, alcohol and caffeine consumption, cigarette and drug exposure, environmental oxidative damage to the sperm, radiation exposure and testicular varicoceles.

More and more research is concluding that men do indeed have a biological clock. Age does seem to affect the vitality of the sperm which plays a role in the long term health of the resultant fetus. One study concluded that children of men who became a father after the age of 40 were 5.75 times more likely to have an autism disorder compared to those whose fathers were younger than 30.

A study on schizophrenia found that the risk of the illness was doubled among children of fathers in their late 40s when compared with children of fathers under 25 and increased almost threefold in children born to fathers 50 and older.

Sperm are much more vulnerable to damage then the female egg. They are 1/200th the size of the egg and they are produced and stored in the testicles which are essentially located outside the body and thus are that much more exposed to the external environment. As well, sperm require 80 days to mature and therefore the health of those sperm are not only affected by the health and lifestyle choices of the man at the time of examination but also for the 2 1/2 months prior.