Children conceived by older fathers are more likely to develop early-onset schizophrenia, and every 10 years on a father’s age increases the probability of the condition in their children by 30 percent, researchers said on Friday.
Although congenital disorders have previously been linked to the age of the mother, few studies have focused on the relationship between paternal age and children’s health, said Chen Wei-jen (陳為堅), a professor of public health at National Taiwan University.
After examining the family history of about 2,900 people with schizophrenia, Chen’s team determined that advanced paternal age could be correlated to early-onset schizophrenia, defined as developing the condition before 18, he said.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
The team conducted a genomic analysis on about 1,700 people and their families, which indicated that each decade of paternal aging after 20 increases the child’s risk of early-onset schizophrenia by a factor of 1.28, he said.
There are two hypotheses that could explain the correlation: one is that the quality of sperm — which is created by cell division through the entire life of males — tends to decline with multiplying genetic mutations, resulting in congenital disorders among offspring; the second is that the phenomenon is caused by other characteristics, such as a pre-existing history of mental illness, the team said.
About 66 percent of children conceived by men aged 50 or older will develop some kind of early-onset mental illness, said Wang Shi-heng (王世亨), an associate professor of occupational safety and health at China Medical University.
The ideal age to father children is 25 to 29, when the sperm is fully developed and relatively free of mutations, he said.
Ministry of the Interior data from 2017 showed that the average age for Taiwanese men to have their first child was 34.5, up from 30.3 in 1991.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
RSS