If the father drinks before conception, it can impair the development of his offspring, according to research conducted on mice.
- Paternal alcoholism before conception could lead to anxiety or hyperactivity in the child
- Other studies already pointed to the dangers of maternal alcoholism for children
Alcohol is harmful to the health of infants, which is why it is not recommended for pregnant women to consume it. A new study, published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, shows that the father’s alcohol consumption also has consequences for the child. Scientists found significant deficits in brain development in mice whose offspring had been exposed to alcohol before conception.
A little explored topic
“People have long known that mothers drinking alcohol during pregnancy is dangerous.explains Kelly Huffman, director of this study. Nevertheless, the consequences of paternal consumption during conception have never really been studied..” This finding prompted researchers at the University of California (USA) to take an interest in this question. In their study, carried out in the laboratory, they administered alcohol to male mice in the two to three weeks before mating with a female mouse, which had never been exposed to alcohol.
The analysis of their offspring shows that this paternal consumption causes an alteration in the expression of the genes of the cerebral neocortex and their connectivity. This part of the brain is one of the most complex in mammals, it is responsible for complex cognitive functions and behavior. The mice had other disorders such as anxiety or hyperactivity, some had reduced motor functions.
The habits of the father have consequences for his children
“The fact that fathers consume moderate or large amounts of alcohol before conception has a negative impact on their offspring because of the exposure of sperm to these substances”, summarizes Kelly Huffman, director of this study. In general, the lifestyle of the father has important consequences for the children. In 2015, a Danish study showed that a man’s build has an influence on the risk of overweight in his offspring. Regardless of the mother’s weight, children whose fathers are obese are predisposed to obesity whether in childhood or later in life.
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