Older Dads Father Dumber Kids?

March 9, 1:25 PMFatherhood ExaminerJoe Schatz

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Study suggest older dad sperm may contain errors

A recently released study finds that children of older dads score lower on IQ tests even after weighing socioeconomic factors.   

Australian and US researchers analyzed test results of more than 33,000 US born children born to fathers between the ages of 14 and 66.  The tests included reasoning, concentration, learning, memory and speaking and reading skills, at eight months, four years and seven years.

Lead author John McGrath said the study results were surprising and he continued to say, "It was thought that the age of the father was less of a concern compared to the age of the mother.  Now we are getting more evidence about the offspring of older fathers, the age of the father could be more important than we thought.  The older a dad is, his children do slightly worse in intelligence tests."

The study doesn’t find the cause for the phenomenon but one possible cause Professor McGrath, of the University of Queensland, suggests could be the sperm produced by older fathers may contain more DNA errors, which are subsequently passed on to their children.

McGrath says that this study should not be a cause for alarm for older dads as he says, "The effect we see is very small."

What do you think of this study?  Are you an 'Older Father?'  How did your kids turn out?  Do you know any kids from 'older fathers?'  There are so many studies released every week, how much weight do you put on their findings?