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Paternal age and schizophrenia in dizygotic twins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

L. B. Raschka
L. B. Raschka*
Affiliation:
360 Bloor Street West, Suite 204, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1XI
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Abstract

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The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 176 , Issue 4 , April 2000 , pp. 400 - 401
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Copyright © 2000 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Crow (Reference Crow1999) reported that dizygotic twinning increases with parental age as does the incidence of schizophrenia. Our study of 574 patients with schizophrenia showed that the incidence of schizophrenia increases with paternal age (Reference DaveyRaschka, 1998). Scientific publications reported increased incidence of at least 12 illnesses with increased paternal age. The rate of mutations in spermatogenesis increases with age (Reference PenrosePenrose, 1955; Reference Vogel and MotulskyVogel & Motulsky, 1979; Reference RaschkaRaschka, 1995; Reference SankaranarayananSankaranarayanan, 1998). Other age-related changes are also known to occur in spermatogenesis. The study of the effect of paternal age could yield useful information regarding the reported greater occurrence of schizophrenia in dizygotic twins.

References

Crow, T. J. (1999) Twin studies of psychosis and the genetics of cerebral asymmetry. British Journal of Psychiatry, 175, 399–401.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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Raschka, L. B. (1995) On older fathers. American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 1404.Google Scholar
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Sankaranarayanan, K. (1998) Ionizing radiation and genetic risks IX. Estimates of the frequencies of Mendelian diseases and spontaneous mutation rates in human populations: a 1998 perspective. Mutation Research, 411, 129–178.Google Scholar
Vogel, F. & Motulsky, A. G. (1979) Human Genetics: Problems and Approaches. Berlin: Springer Verlag.Google Scholar
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