Some men do not have children until they are 50 years old. It is a great pleasure to be old. However, having children at an old age will make their grandchildren more vulnerable to autism.
This is the first study on the intergenerational factors of autism in children. Avi Reichenberg, a scholar at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, UK, who led the study, said that the study showed for the first time that "the lifestyle of your father and grandfather has an impact on you".
The study aimed at men who were fathers when they were over 50 years old, and compared young fathers who raised children between the ages of 20 and 24. The results showed that if the "elderly father" gave birth to a daughter, his grandchildren were 1.79 times more likely to suffer from autism than the "young father" grandchildren; If you have a son, your grandchildren are 67% more likely to suffer from autism.
Some researchers speculate that this conclusion may be related to the genetic changes and genetic inheritance of men when they are childbearing at an advanced age.
However, Reichenberg stressed that this conclusion does not mean that children of "older fathers" should not have children, because although the probability of autism in the third generation is increased, the range is "small". The data of Reichenberg and others come from official Swedish data, involving 5936 autistic patients and 30923 people without autism born in Sweden after 1932.
Researchers from Harvard University analyzed the survey records of more than 50000 mothers by American medical institutions. Among them, 451 children suffered from autism. The results show that if the mother has a high degree of physical or mental abuse experience, her child's probability of suffering from autism is 61.1% higher than that of children without this experience.
(Intern editor: Lin Yanjuan)