<img srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/ws/240/cpsprodpb/67de/live/88f1e250-0c29-11ee-b9f3-155d2f7813df.jpg.webp 240w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/ws/320/cpsprodpb/67de/live/88f1e250-0c29-11ee-b9f3-155d2f7813df.jpg.webp 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/ws/480/cpsprodpb/67de/live/88f1e250-0c29-11ee-b9f3-155d2f7813df.jpg.webp 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/ws/624/cpsprodpb/67de/live/88f1e250-0c29-11ee-b9f3-155d2f7813df.jpg.webp 624w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/ws/800/cpsprodpb/67de/live/88f1e250-0c29-11ee-b9f3-155d2f7813df.jpg.webp 800w" sizes="(min-width: 1008px) 760px, 100vw" alt="Al Pacino and his partner Noor Alfalah” width=”1536″ height=”864″ src=”https://www.bbc.com/korean/articles/aspect-ratio:1536 / 864″ class=”bbc-139onq”/>Article related information
- Reporter, Richard Fisher
- Reporter, BBC Future
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8 hours ago
Fathers are getting older. Sometimes they are quite old.
Actor Al Pacino welcomed his fourth child with his 29-year-old girlfriend Noor Al-Fahlah last year at the age of 83. His fellow actor Robert De Niro also announced last month that he had given birth to his seventh child at the age of 79.
These two are definitely not the first ‘late-dads’. There are cases of several male actors, musicians, and even U.S. presidents having children at a late age. Additionally, overall, the average age of late fathers is increasing over time. According to the medical journal ‘Human Reproduction’ published in 2015, the average age of fathers in the United States increased by 3.5 years between 1972 and 2015, and the average age of fathers in the United States during this period was 30.9 years old. And in 9% of cases, the father was over 40 years old when the child was born.
According to Guinness World Records, the oldest father was 92 years old, but cases of unofficially older men are occasionally reported.
But becoming an older father also carries risks.
In December 2022, researchers from the University of Utah and several other institutions published a study comprehensively examining the impact of ‘older fatherhood’ on childbirth, pregnancy, and children’s health.
Although many men of Al Pacino’s age may not have been included in the study, there is already evidence that the sperm of men in their 40s and 50s is of poor quality in terms of quantity, number, motility, and mutation rate.
Due to these changes, becoming a father at an older age significantly increases the risk of not only infertility but also miscarriage after natural conception. Several studies have shown that older fathers significantly increase the risk of miscarriage.
There is also a risk of disease after birth. It has been known since the 1950s that older fathers are more likely to have children with genetic disorders such as achondroplasia. Afterwards, correlations with various other diseases were also confirmed.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that becoming an older father can cause health problems for children, just as being an older mother can,” the Utah researchers said.
Risk of low birth weight baby
Image caption: Researchers have discovered that as men age, the cells that form sperm can mutate and be passed on to the next generation.
Stanford University researchers found a link between older fathers, lower birth weight newborns and an increased risk of seizures. There was also an increased risk of cancer and congenital heart defects in children associated with older fathers.
Of course, as with many studies that address the link between health and causes, the mechanism may not be clear. It is also possible that other complex factors, such as parents’ lifestyle or environmental pollution, may have played a role.
Nevertheless, researchers explained that as men age, mutations and DNA damage can occur in the cells that produce sperm, which can be passed on to the next generation.
These studies are changing the perception of doctors and scientists about fertility in general. In the past, couples having trouble conceiving tended to focus only on the woman and her age. In fact, most research has focused on female fertility. However, while male fertility slowly declines with age, it is becoming increasingly clear that the age of the father is also an important factor.
Currently, it is still rare for fathers to become fathers in their 70s, 80s, or 90s like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. But overall, fatherhood is no longer just a job for young men. Since the 1970s, the number of fathers under 30 in the United States has decreased by 27 percent, while the number of fathers ages 45 to 49 has increased by up to 52 percent.
If this trend continues, the medical community as well as social attitudes will have to change accordingly.
