New research published in the journal Translational Psychiatry suggests that sons of older dads are more intelligent, more focused on their interests and less concerned about fitting in.
The study sheds new light on the multifaceted nature of the advanced paternal age (APA) effects and explores the intricate links between APA, autism and talent. Image credit: Mojca J.
“Our study suggests that kids of older men are not only smarter, but also better able to adapt to environments that require dedicated pursuit of one’s goals, characteristics that promote educational and, likely, career success,” said Dr. Magdalena Janecka, of King’s College London and the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
“We think it’s particularly important to acknowledge the benefits associated with older fathers, as these results will help better inform us about the links between higher paternal age, autism, and the positive characteristics identified in the study.”
Dr. Janecka and co-authors analyzed behavioral and cognitive data from the TEDS (Twins Early Development Study) sample, a large nationally representative cohort of British twins.
There were 12,468 twins from 6,234 families assessed at the age of 12, with data on relevant questionnaires available for 8,601 (4,528 families).
“When the twins were 12 years old, they completed online tests that measured what the researchers called ‘geek-like’ traits, including non-verbal IQ, strong focus on a subject of interest, and levels of social aloofness,” the authors explained.
“Parents were also asked whether their child cared about how they were perceived by peers and whether the child had interests that took up a substantial amount of time.”
“Using this information, we computed a ‘geek index’ (GI) for every child in the study.”
The researchers found that overall, higher GI scores were reported in the sons of older fathers.
This effect existed even after controlling for the parent’s social/economic status, qualifications and employment.
In addition, the team found that these children did better on school exams, particularly in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, several years after their GI was measured.
“Although the study did not directly investigate the role of environmental factors, there are a number of potential reasons why older fathers may have ‘geekier’ sons,” the scientists said.
“For example, older fathers are likely to have more established careers and a higher socioeconomic status than younger fathers, meaning that their children may be brought up in more enriched environments and have access to better schooling.”
“The results also have implications for understanding links between higher paternal age, autism and characteristics typically seen in ‘geeks’.”
“Although we could not measure it directly, we hypothesize that some of the genes for geekiness and for autism are overlapping, and that those genes are more likely to be present in older fathers.”
“When a child inherits only some of those genes, they may be more likely to succeed in school, but with a higher ‘dose’ of these genes, and when there are other contributing risk factors, they may end up with a higher predisposition for autism,” Dr. Janecka said.
“Recent research shows that some of the genes for autism are also linked with higher IQ so future studies will investigate that connection even further.”
_____
M. Janecka et al. 2017. Advantageous developmental outcomes of advancing paternal age. Translational Psychiatry 7: e1156; doi: 10.1038/tp.2017.125
