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"Study: Paternal Age May Affect Social Development Of Children" - Amy Wallace

  • UPI
  • New York, NY
  • (May 01, 2017)

A new study has found paternal age at the time of conception can influence the social development of offspring over time. Researchers at The Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City analyzed social behaviors of children from early childhood through adolescence, finding that children whose father was either very young or older at conception differed in how they gained social skills. "Our study suggests that social skills are a key domain affected by paternal age," says Magdalena Janecka, MD, a postdoctoral fellow of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "What was interesting is that the development of those skills was altered in the offspring of both older as well as very young fathers. In extreme cases, these effects may contribute to clinical disorders. Our study, however, suggests that they could also be much more subtle."

- Magdalena Janecka, MD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

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