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Study indicates relationship between maternal age, schizophrenia risk

Recent findings indicated significant overlap between genetic factors associated with schizophrenia risk and genetic factors associated with age at first birth.

“Parental age is a risk factor for a range of adverse mental health outcomes in children, including common psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia,” Divya Mehta, PhD, of Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues wrote. “Advanced paternal age has received the most attention, with risk to children widely assumed to be explained by de novo mutations that occur more frequently in the germline of older men, although other studies question the de novo mutation hypothesis.”

To determine if a genetic association exists between schizophrenia and age at first birth, researchers analyzed multiple independent genome-wide study data sets for 18,957 individuals with schizophrenia; 12,247 women measured for age at first birth and 22,673 controls. Schizophrenia genetic risk for women with age at first birth data was estimated with genetic effects inferred from the schizophrenia genome-wide association study.

Researchers found a U-shaped relationship between schizophrenia risk and age at first birth, consistent with previous reports of an association between schizophrenia risk in offspring and maternal age when not adjusting for paternal age.

Schizophrenia risk scores significantly predicted response variables, providing further evidence of a relationship between maternal age and schizophrenia risk, according to researchers.

“This study provides evidence for a significant overlap between genetic factors associated with risk of [schizophrenia] and genetic factors associated with [age at first birth],” the researchers wrote. “We conclude that women with high genetic predisposition to [schizophrenia] tend to have their first child at an early age or a later age compared with women in the general population.” – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.