The Risks and Controversies of Late Fatherhood: Al Pacino's Story
Studies have shown that advanced paternal age is associated with poor health effects in offspring, including low birth weight, seizures, childhood cancers, and congenital cardiac defects. As men age, they can pick up mutations and DNA damage in the cells that form sperm that can then be passed on to the following generation. While male fertility may decline more slowly and later in life than in women, the age of a father still matters. The number of US fathers aged 45-49 years increased by up to 52% since the 1970s.