title: Parental ages at birth of children with pervasive developmental disorders are higher than those of children in the general population.
abstract: To examine whether parental ages at birth of children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) are elevated, maternal/paternal ages at birth of 309 PDD children born in 1993-2003 (mean age, 8.4 years) were compared with those of children in the Japanese national statistics (general population). The mean maternal/paternal ages (years) at birth of PDD children of 31.7/34.6 were significantly higher even than the highest mean maternal/paternal ages at birth of children of 31.2/33.6 in the national statistics in 2003. This first Japanese study to report elevated parental ages at birth of PDD children underscores the need of further extensive studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health Administration, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan. tomok@ncnp.go.jp
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyake
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kurita
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D010331:Paternal Age