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Parental age as a risk factor for isolated congenital malformations in a Polish population

Anna Materna-Kiryluk1, Katarzyna Wiśniewska, Magdalena Badura-Stronka

  • 1Department of Medical Genetics, Karol Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland. akiryluk@amp.edu.pl

Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
|February 21, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Parental age influences congenital malformation risk. Young parents face higher gastroschisis and neural tube defect risks, while advanced parental age is linked to heart defects and certain orofacial clefts.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Science
  • Genetics
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Inconsistent data exists on parental age and congenital malformations.
  • Accurate assessment requires large datasets and adjusted analyses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the independent associations of maternal and paternal age with isolated non-syndromic congenital malformations.
  • To clarify conflicting findings in previous research.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Polish Registry of Congenital Malformations (PRCM).
  • Analyzed 8,683 cases of congenital malformations from 902,452 livebirths.
  • Employed logistic regression for simultaneous adjustment of maternal and paternal age risks.

Main Results:

  • Young maternal and paternal ages independently associated with gastroschisis.
  • Young maternal age, not paternal, linked to neural tube defects.
  • Advanced maternal and paternal ages independently associated with congenital heart defects.
  • Advanced paternal age linked to hypospadias, cleft lip/palate.
  • No significant parental age association found for microcephaly, hydrocephaly, intestinal atresia, ano-rectal atresia, renal anomalies, or omphalocele.

Conclusions:

  • Parental age is an independent risk factor for specific congenital malformations.
  • Maternal and paternal age effects vary depending on the malformation type.
  • Findings provide crucial data for risk assessment and counseling.

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