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Published on: June 15, 2011
Paternal age and risk of autism in an ethnically diverse, non-industrialized setting: Aruba
Ingrid D C van Balkom1, Michaeline Bresnahan, Pieter Jelle Vuijk
1Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic, Oranjestad, Aruba. idc.vanbalkom@lentis.nl
Objective:
The aim of this study was to examine paternal age in relation to risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in a setting other than the industrialized west.
Design:
A case-control study of Aruban-born children (1990-2003). Cases (N = 95) were identified at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic, the only such clinic in Aruba; gender and age matched controls (N = 347) were gathered from public health records. Parental age was defined categorically (≤ 29, 30-39, 40-49, ≥ 50 y). The analysis was made, using conditional logistic regression.
Results:
Advanced paternal age was associated with increased risk of ASDs in offspring. In comparison to the youngest paternal age group (≤ 29 y), risk of autism increased 2.18 times for children born from fathers in their thirties, 2.71 times for fathers in their forties, and 3.22 thereafter.
Conclusion:
This study, part of the first epidemiologic study of autism in the Caribbean, contributes additional evidence, from a distinctive sociocultural setting, of the risk of ASD associated with increased paternal age.
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