SPERM FACTS

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Male Health: The Long Shot
From puberty on, reproductive health and the viability of sperm continue to evolve.

By: Mark Teich Psychology Today



Teens

Until age 13 or 14, sperm is not fully formed, increasing the risk of infertility or birth defects. Sperm may be extremely healthy in older teens, who are famous for their potency. But risky teen behavior may put sperm at risk.



20s
These are prime years for male reproduction. Men have the maximum amount of mature sperm cells and the least DNA damage. The risk of producing birth defects or causing other problems in offspring is as low as it ever will be.



30s
Testosterone levels start to decline at age 30, bringing a decrease in potency. By 32-34, fertility begins to fall. Men who are 35 or older are twice as likely to be infertile as men under age 25. The mid-thirties also bring a significant increase in sperm DNA damage and thus an increased risk of producing birth defects. One in 99 fathers ages 30-35 sire children with schizophrenia versus one in 141 for fathers under age 25.



40s
Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, involving pre-diabetes symptoms and cardiovascular risk factors, start to occur more often in men. Both disorders are strongly associated with below-normal levels of testosterone, lowering potency. Erectile dysfunction (ED) starts to be a problem in a number of men. The risk of schizophrenia doubles in children of fathers in their late forties compared with children of fathers under age 25. Men 40 and older are nearly six times more likely to have offspring with autism than men younger than 30.



50s
Erectile dysfunction increases for many men. By age 50, the DNA cells that create sperm have gone through more than 800 rounds of division and replication, vastly decreasing the quality of sperm and increasing the chances of mutation and birth defects. The risk of schizophrenia almost triples for children of fathers 50 and older; one in 47 fathers sires a child with the condition.




60s
At the age of 60, 85 percent of sperm is clinically abnormal, something researchers attribute to normal aging.

It is very possible that Paternal Age is the Major Predictor for autism---Harry Fisch, MD

Harry Fisch is the author of The Male Biological Clock, The Patient's Guide to Vasectomy Reversal, The Patient's Guide to Varicocele Repair and Managing The Vasectomy Patient. He is one of the nation's leaders in the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility and microsurgical vasectomy reversal. Dr. Fisch is director of the Male Reproductive Center and directs urologic microsurgery in the Department of Urology at Columbia University Medical Center of New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. He is also professor of clinical urology at Columbia University, where he was recently named Teacher of the Year in his department.
For over fifteen years, Dr. Fisch has focused his research, practice, and surgery on male infertility and reproduction.




From the Psychology Today article:


"Everybody was familiar with the concept of women's biological clock, but when we introduced 'male' to the equation, the reaction was 'What are you talking about? Men can have children at any age,'" recalls urologist Harry Fisch, director of the Male Reproductive Center at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and author of The Male Biological Clock. "It became a social issue. Men do not like to be told they have a problem."
Nonetheless, a virtual tidal wave of recent research has made it irrefutable: Not only does male fertility decrease decade by decade, especially after age 35, but aging sperm can be a significant and sometimes the only cause of severe health and developmental problems in offspring, including autism, schizophrenia, and cancer. The older the father, the higher the risk. But what's truly noteworthy is not that infertility increases with age—to some degree, we've known that all along—but rather that older men who can still conceive may have such damaged sperm that they put their offspring at risk for many types of disorders and disabilities.
"Men thought they were getting off scot free, and they weren't. The birth defects caused by male aging are significant conditions that can cause a burden to families and society," says Ethylin Wang Jabs, professor of pediatric genetics at Johns Hopkins University and leader of a recent study showing the link between aging paternity and certain facial deformities in offspring. "We now know that men and women alike could be increasing the risk of infertility or birth defects by waiting too long to have children." In other words, by looking for perfection in your life before you conceive, there's a very real chance you'll have less perfect kids."
In the past several years, studies worldwide have found that with each passing decade of their lives and with each insult they inflict on their bodies, men's fertility decreases, while genetic risk to offspring slowly mounts. The range of findings is staggering: Several studies have shown that the older the man, the more fragmented the DNA in his ejaculated sperm, resulting in greater risk for infertility, miscarriage or birth defects. Investigations out of Israel, Europe, and the United States have shown that non-verbal (performance) intelligence may decline exclusively due to greater paternal age; that up to a third of all cases of schizophrenia are linked to increasing paternal age; and that men 40 and older are nearly six times more likely to have offspring with autism than men under age 30. Other research shows that the risk of breast and prostate cancer in offspring increases with paternal age. "



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This is why autism and 100s of other disorders are rapidly rising:


By Rick Brewer
Record Staff Writer
October 23, 2007 6:00 AM
Jerry Syrovatka says that at 51 he can still run circles around his 8-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son.

But who knows how long that will last?

The Weston Ranch resident is part of a growing phenomenon among baby boomers: men who father children well past the age of 40.