Title |
Risk of psychiatric illness from advanced paternal age is not predominantly from de novo mutations
|
---|---|
Published in |
Nature Genetics, May 2016
|
DOI | 10.1038/ng.3577 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Jacob Gratten, Naomi R Wray, Wouter J Peyrot, John J McGrath, Peter M Visscher, Michael E Goddard |
Abstract |
The offspring of older fathers have higher risk of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Paternal-age-related de novo mutations are widely assumed to be the underlying causal mechanism, and, although such mutations must logically make some contribution, there are alternative explanations (for example, elevated liability to psychiatric illness may delay fatherhood). We used population genetic models based on empirical observations of key parameters (for example, mutation rate, prevalence, and heritability) to assess the genetic relationship between paternal age and risk of psychiatric illness. These models suggest that age-related mutations are unlikely to explain much of the increased risk of psychiatric disorders in children of older fathers. Conversely, a model incorporating a weak correlation between age at first child and liability to psychiatric illness matched epidemiological observations. Our results suggest that genetic risk factors shared by older fathers and their offspring are a credible alternative explanation to de novo mutations for risk to children of older fathers. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 22 | 27% |
United Kingdom | 4 | 5% |
Spain | 3 | 4% |
Germany | 3 | 4% |
Australia | 2 | 2% |
Japan | 2 | 2% |
Ireland | 2 | 2% |
Peru | 1 | 1% |
Canada | 1 | 1% |
Other | 9 | 11% |
Unknown | 33 | 40% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 51 | 62% |
Scientists | 22 | 27% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 6 | 7% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 3 | 4% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 2 | 1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
Germany | 1 | <1% |
Austria | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 180 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 42 | 23% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 39 | 21% |
Student > Master | 21 | 11% |
Student > Bachelor | 15 | 8% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 10 | 5% |
Other | 32 | 17% |
Unknown | 26 | 14% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 46 | 25% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 36 | 19% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 24 | 13% |
Psychology | 15 | 8% |
Neuroscience | 13 | 7% |
Other | 20 | 11% |
Unknown | 31 | 17% |