A study found that the older a father is, the risk of his child developing schizophrenia increases by up to two times. This is because children born to older fathers are more likely to inherit new genetic mutations.
According to reports from foreign media including the Central News Agency (CNA) on the 6th (local time), researchers from the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) and National Taiwan University announced that there is a correlation between the reproductive age of fathers and the mental health of their children. The research findings were published in the international journal 'Molecular Psychiatry' in March.
Although the exact cause of schizophrenia has not yet been identified, the prevailing hypothesis is that it arises from an excessive secretion of the brain neurotransmitter dopamine. It is known as a mental illness that can lead to hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, bizarre behavior, and cognitive dysfunction.
The research team analyzed medical data from over 7 million newborns born in Taiwan to investigate the relationship between the father's age and the incidence of schizophrenia in children. The results showed that the incidence of schizophrenia in children born when the father is aged 25 to 29 is 0.5%, but when the father is over 50, the incidence rate increases to 1%, doubling the risk.
To find the cause of these results, the research team utilized whole-genome sequencing (WGS). WGS decodes the entire DNA sequence of an individual patient, allowing for comprehensive detection of genetic variations occurring across the entire genome.
In a study involving five families, each with at least three children suffering from schizophrenia while both parents were healthy, it was found that for every additional year the father ages, the number of genetic mutations passed on to the children increases by an average of 1.5 times. The more mutations there are, the earlier the symptoms of schizophrenia appeared.
Shi-Heng Wang, a researcher at the NHRI leading the study, noted, "Men produce sperm continuously throughout their lives, and during this process, cell division occurs repeatedly, which can lead to replication errors and new mutations. As age increases, the number of genetic mutations during the sperm production process also increases, making it more likely to pass these mutations to offspring."
However, the research team emphasized that the father's age is not the only cause of schizophrenia. They analyzed that only about 30% of schizophrenia cases are related to genetic mutations derived from older fathers, while the remaining 70% arise from non-genetic factors, such as family environment or social stress.
References
Molecular Psychiatry (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-02942-0