The Male Biological Clock - Does It Exist?

However, Dr Fisch presented data indicating the decline in male fertility is associated with age. Dr Fisch presented his data on the impact of paternal age on Down syndrome (Fisch et al., "The Influence of Paternal Age on Down Syndrome". J.Urol 2003) There are a large number of entities that have been reported to be associated with advanced paternal age. One potential explanation for the increased incidence of some of these entities may be a recognized increase in sperm acneuploidy with increasing age.

The incidence of schizophrenia has also been reported as having a correlation to increasing paternal age ("Advancing Paternal Age and the Risk of Schizophrenia," D. Malaspina, et al., Arch Gen Psychiatry.158:758, 2001).

The potential public health consequences of delayed parenting were emphasized.