Father’s age and lifestyle link to birth defects in offspring, review finds

A father’s age, alcohol use, and exposure to environmental factors have been linked by increasing research evidence to birth defects in his offspring, a review has found, suggesting that these defects result from epigenetic alterations that can potentially affect several generations.1

The review’s authors, led by Joanna Kitlinska, of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, USA, said, “Historically, research into congenital defects has focused on maternal impacts on the fetal genome during …