Scientists at the University of
Alberta in Canada, have alerted that boys born to older women were more likely
to develop Cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life. Also, the researchers
said in animal experiments, males born to older female rats, equivalent in age
to a woman of 35, had weaker hearts and blood vessels.
To this end, future studies, will
look into whether or not the findings were true in humans, said Professor
Davidge, adding that a particular focus would be the role of the placenta.
The findings of the new study were
published in the ‘Journal of Physiology’. Although, previous studies had shown
that delaying motherhood was already known to increase the risk of
complications in pregnancy. However, going by the new research, scientists have
found that the growing trend of putting careers ahead of starting a family
could have an even bigger impact on future generations than feared.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or
blood vessels.
They include
coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina, myocardial infarction (commonly
known as a heart attack), among others. According to the American College of
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Fertility in women starts to decrease at age
32 years and becomes more rapid after age 37 years. Women become less fertile
as they age because they begin life with a fixed number of eggs in their
ovaries, which begins t decreases as they grow older including diabetes
mellitus or gestational diabetes.
The research
team said the new study demonstrated that postponing parenthood makes offspring
more prone to cardiovascular disease as adults. However, female offspring did
not suffer the same effect. Lead researcher Professor Professor Sandra Davidge
Sandra said: “This research is important because it improves our understanding
of the impact of giving birth at an older age.”
