- Middle-aged men likely to be in better general health if born to older parents
- This protective effect still held if the man was overweight, research found
- Unclear if beneficial effect was due to having an older mother, father, or both
- And if parents’ genes or child-rearing approach was the main reasonÂ
Anna Hodgekiss for MailOnline
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Children born to older parents may enjoy better health later in life – even if they’re not particularly healthy themselves.
A study found middle-aged men who were overweight were still likely to be in better general health if they were born to older parents.Â
Not only did they have lower blood pressure, they also had more favourable cholesterol levels and improved glucose metabolism – meaning their risk of diabetes was reduced.Â
The researchers, based in New Zealand, drew their conclusions after assessing the health of 70 men with an average age of 46.Â
Children born to older parents appeared to have more protection against the diseases of middle-age, such as diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure – even if they were overweight
They added it was not clear whether the beneficial effect was due to having an older mother, an older father, or both.
The study comes as the average age of first-time mothers continues to rise and more and more women in their 50s are giving birth.
This summer, the average age of a first-time mother in the UK hit 30 for the first time.
This is higher than most countries in Europe and considerably higher than the U.S, where the average age is 25.8 years.Â
In Australia, the average first-time age is also 30.Â
Experts say rising ages is a sign of women opting to concentrate on their careers before settling down, while also a sign of ‘how seriously couples take the responsibility of having children in the 21st century’.Â
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It was the first time the average age has surpassed the three-decade mark since records began in 1938, the Office for National Statistics said. Â
But older mothers have long been warned about the risks of giving birth later in life.
A wealth of research shows that these women tend to have more complications than their younger counterparts.
Louise Silverton, director for midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives, said: ‘Older mothers are more likely to have increased rates of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancies and genetic problems.
‘They are also more likely to have other issues such high blood pressure, diabetes and problems with the placenta.’
The study comes as the average age of first time mothers continues to rise. In the UK (graphic above), it hit 30 for the first time this year. This is higher than most countries in Europe and considerably higher than the U.S, where the average age is 25.8. Australia’s first time average is also 30
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has warned that mothers over the age of 40 are up to three times more likely to lose their baby than younger mothers.Â
Their babies also face a greater risk of ill-health or abnormalities such as Down’s Syndrome.
And it’s not just a woman’s age that has been linked to problems with her child.Â
New studies suggest children born to older men may be at raised risk of a string of genetic disorders and diseases, including autism, schizophrenia and developmental problems such as dwarfism and cleft palate.Â
Some have even linked having an older father to Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar disorder (previously known as manic depression), heart disease and cancer.Â
Scientists have warned that a man in his 40s is twice as likely to pass down potentially disease-forming genetic mutations as a man in his 20s. In other words, the biological clock ticks for men, too.
This is because just as a man’s memory and skin elasticity gets worse with age, the quality of his sperm seems to as well.Â
Crucially, unlike women who are born with a complete set of eggs, men continually make new sperm throughout their lifetime.
Older mothers have historically been warned about the risks of giving birth later in life, as they are more likely to suffer complications
Every 16 days, cells in the testicles divide and the DNA in each cell is copied into a new one which is used to make new sperm.Â
The body is highly accurate at making an exact copy, but inevitably it sometimes makes mistakes. Some sperm will be made containing an error in the DNA – what’s known as a genetic mutation.
As a man gets older, the copying process becomes tired and less efficient and his sperm contains more mutations.Â
And if mutated sperm is then used to form a foetus, there’s more chance of problems in its development.
However research published this summer found babies born to mothers aged over 40 can have better physical and emotional well-being.
Researchers from Birkbeck University of London and University College London assessed children of women older than 40 and compared them with those born to younger mothers in their twenties.
While they might tire their mothers out and be harder to catch, they found children born to mothers over 40 are healthier.Â
The study concluded that children of older mothers were 22 percent less likely to accidentally injure themselves and nearly a third less likely to be admitted to hospital by the age of three.
The offspring of older women are also more likely to have better emotional well-being as the likelihood of conflict between parent and child was found to decrease as the maternal age increased.
And language development by the ages of three and four was also better for the children of older mothers.
Wayne Cutfield, author of the new study published this week, said extra studies are needed to investigate the effects of parents’ age at childbirth – and whether this has an impact on the child’s metabolism.
One crucial question is whether the health benefits are due to nature or nuture – essentially the parents’ genes or their child-rearing style, said lead study author, said the professor of Paediatric Endocrinology at The University of Auckland.
The study was published in the American Journal of Human Biology study.
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