The age of fathers in the USA is rising: an analysis of 168 867 480 births from 1972 to 2015

ABSTRACTSTUDY QUESTIONHow has the mean paternal age in the USA changed over the past 4 decades?SUMMARY ANSWERThe age at which men are fathering children in the USA has been increasing over time, although it varies by race, geographic region and paternal education level.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYWhile the rise in mean maternal age and its implications for fertility, birth outcomes and public health have been well documented, little is known about paternal characteristics of births within the USA.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONA retrospective data analysis of paternal age and reporting patterns for 168 867 480 live births within the USA since 1972 was conducted.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSAll live births within the USA collected through the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were evaluated. Inverse probability weighting (IPW) was used to reduce bias due to missing paternal records.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEMean paternal age has increased over the past 44 years from 27.4 to 30.9 years. College education and Northeastern birth states were associated with higher paternal age. Racial/ethnic differences were also identified, whereby Asian fathers were the oldest and Black fathers were the youngest. The parental age difference (paternal age minus maternal age) has decreased over the past 44 years. Births to Black and Native American mothers were most often lacking paternal data, implying low paternal reporting....
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research