Paternal age at birth and high-functioning autistic-spectrum
                        disorder in offspring

BackgroundPrevious studies have reported the association between advanced paternal age at birth and the risk of autistic-spectrum disorder in offspring, including offspring with intellectual disability.AimsTo test whether an association between advanced paternal age at birth is found in offspring with high-functioning autistic-spectrum disorder (i.e. offspring without intellectual disability).MethodA case–control study was conducted in Japan. The participants consisted of individuals with full-scale IQ ⩾ 70, with a DSM–IV autistic disorder or related diagnosis. Unrelated healthy volunteers were recruited as controls. Parental ages were divided into tertiles (i.e. three age classes). Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using logistic regression analyses, with an adjustment for age, gender and birth order.ResultsEighty-four individuals with autistic-spectrum disorder but without intellectual disability and 208 healthy controls were enrolled. Increased paternal, but not maternal, age was associated with an elevated risk of high-functioning autistic-spectrum disorder. A one-level advance in paternal age class corresponded to a 1.8-fold increase in risk, after adjustment for covariates.ConclusionsAdvanced paternal age is associated with an increased risk for high-functioning autistic-spectrum disorder.

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Convulsive status epilepticus as a possible symptom of COVID-19 in a patient with intellectual disability and autistic spectrum disorder

Neurología (English Edition) ◽

10.1016/j.nrleng.2020.07.010 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 35 (9) ◽

pp. 703-705

Author(s):

C. Peña-Salazar ◽

M. López Cuiña ◽

V. Chavarría ◽

B. Robles Olmo

Keyword(s):

Intellectual Disability ◽

Status Epilepticus ◽

Autistic Spectrum Disorder ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Convulsive Status Epilepticus ◽

Autistic Spectrum

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Understanding the association between advanced paternal age and schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291719000242 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (3) ◽

pp. 431-437 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mark Weiser ◽

Daphna Fenchel ◽

Or Frenkel ◽

Eyal Fruchter ◽

Shimon Burshtein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bipolar Disorder ◽

De Novo ◽

Psychiatric Hospitalization ◽

Population Based ◽

Paternal Age ◽

Social Characteristics ◽

Advanced Paternal Age ◽

First Child ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Age At Birth

AbstractBackgroundPrevious studies reported an association between advanced paternal age at birth and increased risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. While some hypothesize that this association is caused by de-novo mutations in paternal spermatozoa, others cite factors associated with psycho-social characteristics of fathers who have children at a late age. This study aims to test these hypotheses.MethodsA historical-prospective, population-based cohort study, performed by linking the Israeli Draft Board Registry and the Israeli National Psychiatric Hospitalization Registry (N = 916 439; 4488 with schizophrenia, 883 with bipolar disorder). Odds ratios (OR) and two-sided 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by logistic regression models, using paternal age as predictor and risk for later hospitalizations for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder as outcome measure. Models were first fitted unadjusted, then adjusted for paternal age at birth of the first child.ResultsIn the unadjusted model, offspring of fathers aged 45 and above at birth had increased risk of schizophrenia (OR = 1.71, 95% CI 1.49–1.99) and bipolar disorder (OR = 1.63, 95% CI 1.16–2.24). However, taking into account paternal age at birth of first child, advanced paternal age was no longer associated with increased risk of schizophrenia (OR = 0.60, 95% CI 0.48–0.79) or bipolar disorder (OR = 1.03, 95% CI 0.56–1.90).ConclusionsControlling for paternal age at birth of the first offspring, advanced paternal age does not predict increased risk for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. These data indicate that the association between advanced paternal age and having an offspring with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is likely due to psychos-social factors, or common genetic variation associated with delayed initial fatherhood.

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Migration and autism spectrum disorder: population-based study

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.bp.111.095125 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 201 (2) ◽

pp. 109-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

Cecilia Magnusson ◽

Dheeraj Rai ◽

Anna Goodman ◽

Michael Lundberg ◽

Selma Idring ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Intellectual Disability ◽

High Functioning Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

High Functioning ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Timing Of Migration ◽

Low Functioning ◽

Migrant Parents

BackgroundMigration has been implicated as a risk factor for autism, but evidence is limited and inconsistent.AimsTo investigate the relationship between parental migration status and risk of autism spectrum disorder, taking into consideration the importance of region of origin, timing of migration and possible discrepancies in associations between autism subtypes.MethodRecord-linkage study within the total child population of Stockholm County between 2001 and 2007. Individuals with high- and low-functioning autism were defined as having autism spectrum disorder with and without comorbid intellectual disability, and ascertained via health and habilitation service registers.ResultsIn total, 4952 individuals with autism spectrum disorder were identified, comprising 2855 children with high-functioning autism and 2097 children with low-functioning autism. Children of migrant parents were at increased risk of low-functioning autism (odds ratio (OR) = 1.5, 95% CI 1.3–1.7); this risk was highest when parents migrated from regions with a low human development index, and peaked when migration occurred around pregnancy (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.7–3.0). A decreased risk of high-functioning autism was observed in children of migrant parents, regardless of area of origin or timing of migration. Parental age, income or obstetric complications did not fully explain any of these associations.ConclusionsEnvironmental factors associated with migration may contribute to the development of autism presenting with comorbid intellectual disability, especially when actingin utero.High- and low-functioning autism may have partly different aetiologies, and should be studied separately.

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