Human Reproduction, Vol. 15, No. 8, 1703-1708,
August 2000
© 2000 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Increasing paternal age is associated with delayed conception in a large population of fertile couples: evidence for declining fecundity in older men
1 Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2 Division of Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, University of Bristol, Bristol and 3 Brunel University, Department of Health Studies, Middlesex, UK
The impact of male age on fecundity remains controversial. Here, a large population study was used to investigate the effect of paternal age on time to conception. All couples in the Avon Health district expecting a baby between 1 April 1991 and 31 December 1992 were eligible. Questionnaires completed by both the man and the woman at 18 weeks gestation covered specific fertility factors, e.g. parity, paternity, cohabitation and oral contraception; and non-specific factors, e.g. educational achievement, housing, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity. Logistic regression was used to identify factors independently related to conception in 
6 or 12 months. Of 8515 planned pregnancies, 74% were conceived in 6 months, 14% in the second 6 months and 12% after more than a year. Nine variables, including the age of the woman, were independently related to time to conception. After adjustment for these, the likelihood of conception within 6 or 12 months was lower in older men. Compared to men <25 years old, the adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for conception in 12 months were 0.62 (0.40, 0.98), 0.50 (0.31, 0.81) and 0.51 (0.31, 0.86) in men aged 30–34, 35–39 and 
40 years respectively.
Key words: fecundity/fertility/male age/time to conception
4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: University Division of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, St Michael's Hospital, Southwell Street, Bristol BS2 8EG, UK. E-mail: chris.ford{at}bristol.ac.uk
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