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Paternal age at childbirth and eating disorders in offspring

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2016

K. N. Javaras ,
M. E. Rickert ,
L. M. Thornton ,
C. M. Peat ,
J. H. Baker ,
A. Birgegård ,
C. Norring ,
M. Landén ,
C. Almqvist  and
H. Larsson
...Show all authors
K. N. Javaras
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
M. E. Rickert
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University-Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA
L. M. Thornton
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
C. M. Peat
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Department of Neurosurgery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
J. H. Baker
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
A. Birgegård
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
C. Norring
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
M. Landén
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
C. Almqvist
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
H. Larsson
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
P. Lichtenstein
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
C. M. Bulik*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
B. M. D'Onofrio
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University-Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: C. M. Bulik, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 101 Manning Drive CB #7160, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7160, USA. (Email: cbulik@med.unc.edu)
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Abstract

Background

Advanced paternal age at childbirth is associated with psychiatric disorders in offspring, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism. However, few studies have investigated paternal age's relationship with eating disorders in offspring. In a large, population-based cohort, we examined the association between paternal age and offspring eating disorders, and whether that association remains after adjustment for potential confounders (e.g. parental education level) that may be related to late/early selection into fatherhood and to eating disorder incidence.

Method

Data for 2 276 809 individuals born in Sweden 1979–2001 were extracted from Swedish population and healthcare registers. The authors used Cox proportional hazards models to examine the effect of paternal age on the first incidence of healthcare-recorded anorexia nervosa (AN) and all eating disorders (AED) occurring 1987–2009. Models were adjusted for sex, birth order, maternal age at childbirth, and maternal and paternal covariates including country of birth, highest education level, and lifetime psychiatric and criminal history.

Results

Even after adjustment for covariates including maternal age, advanced paternal age was associated with increased risk, and younger paternal age with decreased risk, of AN and AED. For example, the fully adjusted hazard ratio for the 45+ years (v. the 25–29 years) paternal age category was 1.32 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14–1.53] for AN and 1.26 (95% CI 1.13–1.40) for AED.

Conclusions

In this large, population-based cohort, paternal age at childbirth was positively associated with eating disorders in offspring, even after adjustment for potential confounders. Future research should further explore potential explanations for the association, including de novo mutations in the paternal germline.

Keywords

Anorexia nervosaeating disorderspaternal age.
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 47 , Issue 3 , February 2017 , pp. 576 - 584
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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