Autism linked to older fathers

Defective sperm from older fathers may trigger “new” genetic mutations linked to autism, a study has shown.

Researchers found that “de novo”, or newly created, mutations played an important role in autistic spectrum disorders. These defects were “overwhelmingly paternal” in origin.

Fathers were four times more likely to generate the mutations than mothers. The gene defects were also “positively correlated” with paternal age. The findings add to previous research showing older fathers are slightly more at risk of having an autistic child.