The Association Between Parental Age and Autism-Related Outcomes in Children at High Familial Risk for Autism.
Kristen Lyall, Lanxin Song, Kelly Botteron and 16 others
PMID 32314879WHAT IT FOUND
In high-risk siblings, parental age showed no clear link to social communication scores.
Fathers under 30 were more likely to have a child with autism than fathers aged 30 to 34. Older fathers had higher child cognitive scores.
Key findings
01Fathers younger than 30 had higher odds of ASD diagnosis in their children than fathers aged 30 to 34, with an odds ratio of 2.57.
02Increasing paternal age was associated with higher MSEL Early Learning Composite scores, by 5 to 6 points per 10-year increase.
03Advanced maternal or paternal age did not reach statistical significance for ASD odds or SRS scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was relatively small. Modest associations could be missed. The supplied text does not give a single total sample size. Different analyses used different subsets. The study included only siblings of children with autism. Results may not apply to children without a family history. Selection bias and differential loss to follow-up cannot be ruled out. Parental age and child outcome distributions were shifted by the high-risk design. Many mothers were older than in general population samples. Many comparisons were made without correction for multiple testing. Chance findings are possible. Income and broader socioeconomic status were not adjusted for, although parental education was. The study reports associations, not causes. Mechanisms were not tested.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not include a conflict-of-interest declaration. The listed publication types include NIH and other government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read parental age as a cause of autism or as a basis for screening. The study found associations in children who already had a sibling with autism, used many comparisons, and did not test mechanisms.