This is a new study that comes to us from the University of Cambridge (Great Britain): a team of researchers has just discovered that the male reproductive system would not be fully effective before the end of puberty. Thus, children born to teenage dads are more likely than others to develop a genetic disease …
30% risk
Scientists have thus measured that the spermatozoa composing the sperm of adolescents had an unusually high rate of genetic mutations. These “typos” in the DNA of gametes increase the risk of schizophrenia, autism and spina bifida (a malformation of the spine) in the newborn.
The study, carried out on more than 24,000 parents and children, also reveals that it is between 20 and 30 years that the sperm of the man is the healthiest: from 40 years , the rate of genetic mutations is starting to rise again and, with it, the risk of genetic diseases.
“In adolescents, the reproductive system is not yet fully formed and, therefore, functional, says Dr. Forster, lead author of the study. However, there is no question of giving in to paranoia: even in children of teenage fathers, the risk of genetic disease remains very low, around 2%. TO”
TO?? Read also: Genetic disease: family photos, future screening tools.
