Dear old dad, but not mom, may cause lower IQs

William Atkins
Monday, 09 March 2009 20:34

Science - Biology

Additional information on the study is found in the press release from the journal PloS Medicine entitled “Children of older fathers perform less well in intelligence tests during infancy.”

The press release concludes by saying, “Previous researchers have suggested that the children of older mothers may perform better because they experience a more nurturing home environment; if this is the case, this study suggests that children of older fathers do not necessarily experience the same benefit.”

“The researchers advance several hypotheses as possibilities to explain the association between advanced paternal age and children's cognitive ability, including genetic and social arguments. Unlike a woman's eggs – which are formed when she herself is in the womb – a man's sperm accumulates over his lifetime, which previous studies have suggested can mean increased incidence of mutations in the sperm at an older age.”

“However, as emphasized in an expert commentary on the findings by Mary Cannon (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) – who was uninvolved with the study – genetic and social factors can operate in conjunction. ‘New explanatory models are needed that can encompass socio-cultural and interpersonal factors as well as biological variables’, she argues."

"Given the trend towards older maternal and paternal ages in the developing world, policy-makers may want to consider promoting an awareness of the risks to children that this study associates with delayed fatherhood.”

This study seems to indicate that with regards to intelligence for offspring, it is better to have a younger father and an older mother.

More experiments and analysis are needed, however, to verify this claim.