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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on August 19, 2004
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/deh449
© 2004 by European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
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Received February 2, 2004
Revised June 3, 2004
Accepted July 13, 2004

Article

Late paternity and stillbirth risk

P. Astolfi 1*, A. De Pasquale 1, L.A. Zonta 1

1 Department of Genetics and Microbiology ‘A. Buzzati Traverso’, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: astolfi{at}ipvgen.unipv.it.


  Abstract

BACKGROUND: The role of paternal ageing on the incidence of some genetic diseases in offspring depends on the hypothesis that spontaneous mutations accumulate due to continuous cell divisions during spermatogenesis. We examined the effect of paternal age on the complex multifactorial character, stillbirth. METHODS: In 3 619 647 Italian singletons born in 1990-1996 we evaluated stillbirth risk as a function of paternal ageing by means of multiple logistic regression models, which included maternal age and family education, as categorical covariates and interactions. The categorical risk was estimated for mothers and fathers beyond threshold ages of 35 and 40 years, respectively. RESULTS: Stillbirth risk increases with paternal ageing in mothers ≥30 years old, and maternal age and family education modify the impact. In families with low education, the risk accounts for odds ratio (OR) 1.015 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.02] in mothers aged 30-34 years, and for OR 1.032 (95% CI 1.02-1.04) in mothers aged ≥35 years; in families with higher education the risk accounts for OR 1.008 (95% CI 1.00-1.02) and OR 1.025 (95% CI 1.01-1.04), respectively, in mothers aged 30-34 and ≥35 years. In these latter families, for mothers aged <35 and fathers ≥40 years the risk accounts for OR 1.12 (95% CI 1.00-1.25). CONCLUSIONS: The effect of paternal ageing on stillbirth risk is revealed in mothers aged ≥30 years and is modified by family education. In mothers aged 30-34 years from families with high education, the increase imputable to paternal ageing might be indicative of a genetic component.

Keywords: delayed childbearing; paternal age; maternal age; pregnancy outcome; risk at birth.
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