Paternal Age and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Hong Kong Chinese

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether paternal age is associated with the risk of adverse birth outcomes in the Chinese population.
Methods: This was a retrospective study on 99,717 live singletons born to Chinese women aged 20 to 34 years between 1999 and 2008 in four regional hospitals in Hong Kong. Multiple logistic regressions were applied to estimate the independent effect of paternal age on adverse birth outcomes.
Results: Compared to infants born to fathers aged 25 to 29 years (the reference group), infants born to fathers aged 20 to 24 years had an increased risk of very preterm birth (odds ratio [OR]=1.70; 95%  onfidence interval [CI], 1.12-2.58), preterm birth (OR=1.42; 95% CI, 1.20-1.67), low birth weight (OR=1.26; 95% CI, 1.11-1.44), and low Apgar score at 1 minute (OR=1.33; 95% CI, 1.12-1.59). By contrast, such  adverse outcomes were not associated with paternal ages of 30 years or more.
Conclusion: This is the first study on the impact of paternal age in the Chinese population. Younger fathers (aged 20-24 years) conferred an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes, whereas a paternal age of more than 30 years did not confer such a risk.