Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “PATERNITY”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 649 records · Page 36Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Paternal age and delivery before 32 weeks.

BACKGROUND: Advanced paternal age has been linked to early preterm delivery (before 32 weeks). METHODS: We analyzed live births from white, non-Hispanic primiparas recorded in U.S. birth certificates from 1995 to 2000 (excluding California). We examined 2,509,012 pregnancies of married women 20 to 34 years old, excluding unmarried women due to the high fraction of missing data on father's age. We defined the outcome according to the clinical estimate of gestation after excluding unlikely birth weights, because the estimate based on last menstrual period is particularly prone to errors at early gestations. RESULTS: Older paternal age was not associated with increased risk of early preterm delivery. The highest estimated odds ratio among fathers 50 years or older was 1.3 (95% confidence interval = 0.6-2.8) among women 20 to 24 years old. CONCLUSIONS: These U.S. data do not support an association between advanced paternal age and delivery before 32 weeks.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Paternal age and Apgar scores of newborn infants.

BACKGROUND: New evidence suggests that advanced paternal age is a reproductive hazard, but we do not know whether paternal age affects the physical conditions of newborn infants as measured by the Apgar score. METHODS: We conducted a register-based cohort study of 70,347 couples and their first singleton infants by using data from the Danish Fertility Database (1980-1996). Information on Apgar score was obtained by linking the children to the National Birth Register. RESULTS: The odds ratio for having a baby with a 1-minute Apgar score of 1-3 was 1.64 (95% confidence interval = 1.08-2.48) for fathers 45 to 49 years of age and 1.49 (0.76-2.94) for fathers 50+ years compared with fathers 20 to 29 years (P for trend = 0.011). The risk of having a 5-minute Apgar score less than 7 increased among fathers 45+ years old (P for trend = 0.178). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest a modest effect of advanced paternal age on the Apgar score.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Male mating success and paternity in the grey seal, Halichoerus grypus: a study using DNA fingerprinting.

Grey seals breed colonially on remote coastal sites. Within the colony, males compete aggressively for access to the females. We compare field observations of breeding behaviour with paternity, as determined by DNA fingerprinting, in the breeding colony on the island of North Rona. In 89% of cases where paternity was assigned, the father was observed near the mother during her perioestrous period, although in some cases this was discovered retrospectively. However, the most likely candidate male, judged on the basis of behavioural criteria, was shown not to be the father in 36% of cases. Overall, DNA typed males were more dominant, maintained positions amongst the females for longer, and accounted for disproportionately more paternities than untyped males. However, the reproductive success of the typed males is not as great as their behavioural domination of copulatory opportunities would suggest. Possible contributory factors which could explain this include: (i) imprecision in the estimates of copulatory opportunity due to mobility of males or topographical influences on individual behaviour; and (ii) opportunities for subordinate males to copulate with receptive females, either sneakily within the colony or in the water.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Paternal care and male mate-attraction effort in the European starling is adjusted to clutch size.

In facultative polygynous birds with biparental care, a trade-off may occur between male parental care and attraction of additional mates. If there is a cost associated with reduced male parental care, the relative benefit of mate attraction may be predicted to decrease as the size of a male's clutch or brood increases. We tested this prediction in monogamous pairs of facultatively polygynous European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). The larger the clutch, the more time the male spent incubating and the less time he spent attracting an additional female (i.e. singing near and carrying green nesting material into adjacent empty nest-boxes). Reduced paternal incubation resulted in lower overall incubation (the female did not compensate) and lower hatching success. Immediately after experimental reduction of clutches, males spent significantly less time incubating and more time singing and carrying greenery, and vice versa for experimentally enlarged clutches. Males with experimentally reduced clutches attracted a second female more often than males with experimentally enlarged clutches. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to provide experimental evidence for an adjustment of paternal care and male mate-attraction effort to clutch size. However, a trade-off between paternal nestling provisioning and mate attraction was not revealed, probably due to the absence of unpaired females by that time in the breeding season. Experiments showed that the relative contribution of the male and female to nestling provisioning was unrelated to brood size.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Paternal age, stillbirths and mutation.

Previous suggestions that accumulation of mutations in the germ line of ageing fathers causes an increased stillbirth rate were based on analyses of data which were heterogeneous for social variables whose effects were confounded with possible paternal age effects. This study was confined to the analysis of stillbirth rates of groups of women selected to be homogeneous for education, previous pregnancy outcomes, age, race and marital status. It is concluded that stillbirth rates do not increase with father's age independently of maternal variables. Neither accumulation of mutations in the paternal germ line nor other biological change associated with father's age can be inferred to cause an increase in risk of stillbirth with increasing paternal age.

Birth Order↗
PubMed2005

Paternal age is positively linked to telomere length of children.

Telomere length is linked to age-associated diseases, with shorter telomeres in blood associated with an increased probability of mortality from infection or heart disease. Little is known about how human telomere length is regulated despite convincing data from twins that telomere length is largely heritable, uniform in various tissues during development until birth and variable between individuals. As sperm cells show increasing telomere length with age, we investigated whether age of fathers at conception correlated with telomere length of their offspring. Telomere length in blood from 125 random subjects was shown to be positively associated with paternal age (+22 bp yr -1, 95% confidence interval 5.2-38.3, P = 0.010), and paternal age was calculated to affect telomere length by up to 20% of average telomere length per generation. Males lose telomeric sequence faster than females (31 bp yr -1, 17.6-43.8, P < 0.0001 vs. 14 bp yr -1, 3.5-24.8, P < 0.01) and the rate of telomere loss slows throughout the human lifespan. These data indicate that paternal age plays a role in the vertical transmission of telomere length and may contribute significantly to the variability of telomere length seen in the human population, particularly if effects are cumulative through generations.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Medical paternalism and patient self-determination.

In response to the common belief that paternalism directed toward a competent patient necessarily transgresses the patient's right of self-determination and is therefore morally suspect, the authors argue that such a general view fails to appreciate the complexity of the patient/physician relationship as it is manifested in various clinical settings. It is the authors' contention that some strongly paternalistic acts may fail to violate the patient's right of autonomy, that other such acts may actually be a function of respect for patient autonomy, and that others may only suspend or momentarily infringe upon patient autonomy. They conclude that if these instances of paternalism differ from the classical examples of strong paternalism, then so also should the moral appraisal.

Informed Consent↗
PubMed1997

Paternal leukocytes selectively increase secretion of IL-4 in peripheral blood during normal pregnancies: demonstrated by a novel one-way MLC measuring cytokine secretion.

PROBLEM: It has been proposed that immune responses in normal pregnancy are Th2-like, thereby protecting the fetus and placenta from being rejected. Some studies have shown Th2-deviated systemic responses to different antigens and mitogens. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the specific T cell cytokine responses directed toward paternal histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA), because this is the most prominent target for rejection of the feto-placental unit. METHOD OF STUDY: A novel one-way mixed leukocyte culture (MLC) combined with the detection of cytokine secretion with a sensitive ELISPOT assay was developed. Peripheral blood from 11 pregnant women was investigated with respect to allo-reactivity toward paternal leukocytes and pooled leukocytes from unrelated blood donors. This was done at three different occasions during pregnancy and 8 weeks after delivery. Nine age-matched non-pregnant women served as controls. RESULTS: In the second and third trimesters of pregnancy significantly larger numbers of IL-4-secreting cells (Th2) were induced by paternal leukocytes as compared to unrelated leukocytes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate a selective immune deviation toward Th2, which may protect the fetus from rejection and thus may be an important homeostatic mechanism in normal pregnancies.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Evolution of exclusive paternal care in arthopods.

Exclusive male care of offspring is the rarest form of postzygotic parental care among animals and has arisen independently in only 13 arthropod taxa. To distinguish the effects of sexual selection from those of natural selection on the evolution of arthropod paternal care, predictions concerning several life-history and behavioral traits resulting from both forms of selection are made and tested across all known taxa with exclusive paternal care. Comparisons suggest parallels between prezygotic nuptial gifts and exclusive postzygotic male care and support the hypothesis that, in arthropods, male behaviors that enhance female reproductive success either directly, by releasing females from the fecundity constraints of maternal care (enhanced fecundity hypothesis), or indirectly, by identifying mates with superior genes (handicap principle), are traits on which sexual selection has acted. Under such conditions, males that are willing to guard young become preferred mates for gravid females and enjoy greater promiscuity than males that are unable or unwilling to guard. Females use nest construction or the act of guarding another female's eggs as honest signals of paternal intent and quality.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

A note on positive identification of paternity by using genetic markers.

To see the efficiency of the statistical methods for positive identification of fathers using genetic markers, the statistical properties of the paternity index are studied algebraically and numerically. It is found that the currently used statistical methods are not powerful enough to discriminate between true fathers and non-excluded non-fathers, and, more often than not, may lead to false attributions of paternity. It is, therefore, suggested that exclusion of paternity is the only conclusive evidence that can be accepted by courts of law until better methods are devised.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Human red cell esterase D polymorphism in Denmark, its use in paternity cases and the description of a new phenotype.

Red cell esterase D (EsD) phenotypes were determined in a Danish population sample of 3,116 unrelated adults by starch-gel electrophoresis. A new phenotype was discovered, which appeared to be determined by the EsD1 allele and a new allele EsDCph. The gene frequencies observed were EsD1 = 0.9007, EsD2 = 0.0992, EsDCph = 0.0001. Investigation of 1,111 mother-child pairs and 59 families with 157 offspring added further support to the genetic model of two common alleles at an autosomal locus. The applicability of the EsD polymorphism to paternity testing was investigated on 960 cases of disputed paternity. An estimate of the EsD null allele frequency (0.001) in European populations was made on the basis of observations made on 5,864 mother/child combinations and 762 matings with 1,882 offspring. The influence of this allele on the reliability of exclusions of paternity was determined.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Increased parental ages and uniparental disomy 15: a paternal age effect?

Parental ages associated with both maternal and paternal uniparental disomy (UPD) of chromosome 15 are highly elevated in comparison to Zurich population-based controls, with mean maternal and paternal ages of 35.6 and 38.1, respectively for UPD patients (diagnosed in Zurich) and 28.0 and 31.0, in controls. The parental ages are also significantly higher than observed for trisomies of other chromosomes diagnosed in Zurich. The higher age of UPD cases may be due to the fact that two errors, both a gain and a loss of a chromosome 15, are necessary. We suggest that gamete complementation, zygote formation from two gametes one of which is nullisomic and the other disomic for the same chromosome, may be a major mechanism of UPD formation, as well as secondary loss of a chromosome in a trisomic conception, and that there is an association between increased paternal age and nondisjunction.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Paternal age and schizophrenia: further support for an association.

OBJECTIVE: Advanced paternal age has been proposed as a risk factor for later development of schizophrenia in offspring, although studies are not conclusive. De novo mutations arising in paternal germ cells have been suggested as the underlying mechanism. METHOD: The hypothesized association was investigated in a population-based case-control study comprising 524 subjects with schizophrenia and 1,043 matched comparison subjects selected from registers. Birth records with data on parental age were retrieved manually. Odds ratios were computed, with controls for maternal age, parity, marital status, socioeconomic status, maternal psychotic illness, and obstetric complications. RESULTS: The odds of schizophrenia in offspring of fathers 45 years old or older were 2.8 times as great as in offspring of fathers aged 20-24 years. CONCLUSIONS: These findings confirm previous reports of a higher risk for schizophrenia associated with advanced paternal age. They may be of interest for further studies on the genetic mechanisms behind schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Paternal occupational exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and birth outcomes of offspring: birth weight, preterm delivery, and birth defects.

Agent Orange is a phenoxy herbicide that was contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). We studied pregnancy outcomes among wives of male chemical workers who were highly exposed to chemicals contaminated with TCDD and among wives of nonexposed neighborhood referents. For exposed pregnancies, we estimated serum TCDD concentration at the time of conception using a pharmacokinetic model. The mean TCDD concentration for workers' births was 254 pg/g lipid (range, 3-16,340 pg/g). The mean referent concentration of 6 pg/g was assigned to pregnancies fathered by workers before exposure. A total of 1,117 live singleton births of 217 referent wives and 176 worker wives were included. Only full-term births were included in the birth weight analysis (greater than or equal to 37 weeks of gestation). Mean birth weight among full-term babies was similar among referents' babies (n = 604), preexposure workers' babies (n = 221), and exposed workers' babies (n = 292) (3,420, 3,347, and 3,442 g, respectively). Neither continuous nor categorical TCDD concentration had an effect on birth weight for term infants after adjustment for infant sex, mother's education, parity, prenatal cigarette smoking, and gestation length. An analysis to estimate potential direct exposure of the wives during periods of workers' exposure yielded a nonstatistically significant increase in infant birth weight of 130 g in the highest exposure group (TCDD concentration > 254 pg/g) compared with referents (p = 0.09). Mothers' reports of preterm delivery showed a somewhat protective association with paternal TCDD (log) concentration (odds ratio = 0.8; 95% confidence interval, 0.6-1.1). We also include descriptive information on reported birth defects. Because the estimated TCDD concentrations in this population were much higher than in other studies, the results indicate that TCDD is unlikely to increase the risk of low birth weight or preterm delivery through a paternal mechanism. Key words: birth defects, birth weight, congenital anomalies, dioxin, occupation, paternal exposure, preterm birth, TCDD.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Socioendocrine and morphological correlates of paternity in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

When females mate with several males, problems arise in identifying sire and in determining factors contributing to differential male reproductive success. Three potential primary correlates of differential reproduction in males include fighting ability, sperm competition, and body condition. We collected a variety of socioendocrine and morphological measurements from sexually mature rhesus macaques to determine corollaries of paternity. We studied a troop of about 150 rhesus macaques living in a 0.3 ha corral and identified the sires of 70% of infants using multilocus DNA fingerprints. Eight of 21 males sired offspring, and dominant males were more successful than subordinate males. Neither canine size nor age influenced the probability of siring offspring. Male reproductive success was primarily an outcome of the number of females mated with, which was associated with an ensemble of traits including high dominance rank, large body size, relatively voluminous testicles and good body condition. Testes size was significantly larger in sires than in non-sires, but among sires the number of progeny produced was not correlated with testicle size. Sires began the mating season with more body fat than non-sires, but the energetic costs of mating resulted in a 50% reduction in abdominal skinfold thickness during the mating season. We conclude that social status exerts a major impact on paternity by affecting the number of females mated with, that male quality is a critical factor modulating paternity, and that male feeding strategies have a direct influence on variation in male reproductive success.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Paternity after adolescent varicocele repair.

OBJECTIVE: Varicocelectomy has long been a therapeutic modality used in the treatment of male infertility. In the past decade, adolescent varicocelectomy has become a frequent procedure to preserve testicular growth and to help prevent future infertility. Because our clinical population includes a large portion of orthodox Jews who traditionally marry early and are forbidden to use birth control by religious law, we thought that by studying our patients, we might be able to accelerate our follow-up regarding paternity. In addition, we wanted to learn whether adolescent varicocelectomy might have any negative impact. METHODS: Questionnaires inquiring as to the marital and paternity status, postoperative course, and complications were sent to 50 patients who had undergone a unilateral or bilateral varicocele repair during adolescence and who were at least 21 years old at the time of this review. In addition, a careful chart review was performed to examine the perioperative and postoperative parameters of each respondent. RESULTS: Of the 43 responses (86% response rate), 18 of 18 patients who had attempted to father a child were successful. The remaining 25 were not married or had never attempted to father a child. In the paternity group, 10 of the fathers had undergone an Ivanissevich repair; the remaining 8 had a Palomo repair. Sixteen of the 18 had unilateral varicocelectomies, and 2 underwent bilateral repairs. Of those with a unilateral varicocele, the indication for surgery in 10 was a grade 2 to 3 varicocele associated with a >20% volume difference when compared with the right testicle. Three had 10% to 20% volume loss, whereas the remaining three had unusually large grade 3 varicoceles without concurrent volume difference. CONCLUSIONS: Varicocelectomy in the adolescent population has been proposed as a therapeutic intervention to preserve both fertility and testicular growth. Although not showing a cause-and-effect relationship, it is our contention that varicocelectomy in adolescence at worst does no harm and at best preserves fertility.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Developmental toxicity of in ovo exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls: II. Effects of maternal or paternal exposure on second-generation nestling american kestrels.

The development of second-generation nestling American kestrels (Falco sparverius) was altered by in ovo exposure of only one parent to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Polychlorinated biphenyls appear to alter nestling development through both maternally and paternally mediated effects. In 1998, F0 parent kestrels consumed approximately 5 to 7 microg total PCBs/g bird/d (Aroclors 1248:1254: 1260) for approximately 100 d prior to eggs hatching; these eggs, containing total PCB concentrations of 34.1 microg/g, produced 13 F1 offspring, which were then paired in 1999 with unexposed kestrels to examine developmental effects of maternal or paternal in ovo PCB exposure. Using a toxicokinetics model, eggs from the maternally exposed group had predicted PCB levels of 0.03 to 0.34 microg/g, with enriched higher chlorinated congeners. Polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations in eggs of all generations have recently been found in eggs and nestlings of free-ranging eagles. Consistent with the first generation, maternally exposed F2 females generally were larger, had altered growth rates, and delayed maximal growth and fledging compared with control females. Maternally exposed F2 males were heavier but had shorter bones, grew more quickly and earlier, and fledged 2 d later than control males. In the maternally exposed group, concentrations of plasma triiodothyronine were elevated in F2 females but suppressed in F2 males. Paternally exposed F2 hatchlings of both sexes were comparable in size to controls with the exception of having longer tarsi bones, but subsequently showed slower, delayed growth (both sexes) and fledging (females) and lower thyroxine concentrations (males). The alterations in thyroid hormones in the F2 generation are discussed in light of the enrichment of higher chlorinated PCB congeners and hydroxylated PCB congeners. The developmental changes in the kestrel nestlings are likely a function of several possible mechanisms involving maternal PCB deposition, parental behavior, and neurobehavioral and endocrine-thyroid function in nestlings.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Aggressivity among sons of substance-abusing fathers: association with psychiatric disorder in the father and son, paternal personality, pubertal development, and socioeconomic status.

An association between childhood aggression and risk for subsequent development of a substance abuse disorder is now well-accepted. In order to better understand the relationship between the presence of paternal substance abuse and aggression among their offspring, 10-12 year old sons of fathers with (n = 34) and without (n = 39) a history of a substance abuse disorder were contrasted on demographics, aggressivity, biological indices of reproductive maturation, and the presence of psychiatric diagnoses. In addition, personality factors, the potential for physical abuse, and psychiatric diagnoses were also ascertained among their fathers. Sons of substance-abusing fathers were found to be significantly more aggressive than sons of nonsubstance abusers. However, they also differed from comparison boys on the basis of SES and school grade attained, as well as the proportion with specific psychiatric disorders. Substance-abusing fathers differed from nonsubstance-abusing men in terms of personality factors and the presence of specific psychiatric disorders, including antisocial personality. They also showed significantly higher child abuse potential scores. A multiple regression analysis of factors contributing to aggression in the boys revealed that a paternal personality factor characterized by stress reactivity, alienation, and aggression was the most robust contributor to aggression among the boys. The boys' diagnoses of attention deficit disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and lower household socioeconomic status were also significant predictors of aggressivity. Contrary to expectations, paternal, psychiatric diagnoses, substance abuse status, and potential for physical abuse were noncontributory. The results suggest potential mechanisms by which both aggression and risk for substance abuse may be transmitted from father to son.

Aggression↗