Prevalence of dominant mutations in Spain: effect of changes in maternal age distribution

We studied the birth prevalence of autosomal dominant mutations in Spain and estimated how a decrease in maternal age distribution may lead to reduction in dominant mutations. The data were collected by the Estudio Colaborativo Español de Malformaciones Congénitas from April, 1976, to December, 1985. Among 553,270 liveborn infants monitored during the period, 66 infants with autosomal dominant conditions were identified. These included Apert, Crouzon, Hay-Wells, Treacher-Collins, Robinow, Stickler, Adams-Oliver, and the blepharophimosis syndromes, achondroplasia, cleidocranial dysostosis, and thanatophoric dysplasia. The overall rate of autosomal dominant conditions was 1.2 per 10,000 liveborn infants. Thirteen (20%) had an affected relative, and 52 (79%) had a negative family history. One case was excluded because of insufficient family data. The rate of autosomal dominant mutations was 0.9 per 10,000 liveborn infants, or 47 per 1 million gametes. A reduction in the maternal age distribution of mothers age 35 years and older from the current 10.8% to 4.9%, as in Atlanta, Georgia, would reduce the rate of Down syndrome in Spain by 33% and through a change in parternal age distribution may lead to a reduction in dominant mutations of about 9.6%. This suggests that a public health campaign to reduce older maternal age distribution in Spain may also lead to a reduction in dominant mutations and emphasizes the potential that a direct campaign for fathers to complete their families before age 35 years may have a small, but measurable, effect in the primary prevention of dominant mutations.