Advanced paternal age and risk of psychotic-like symptoms in adult offspring

Between 2% and 12% of adults in the general population report experiencing psychotic-like symptoms, and there is suggestive evidence that these symptoms are associated with risk of schizophrenia and other forms of psychopathology. Older parental age is an established risk factor for schizophrenia, however few studies have attempted to extend this relationship to psychotic-like symptoms. Data come from the National Comorbidity Survey—Replication and analysis is restricted to a subset of respondents who completed questions on psychosis (N = 924). Lifetime occurrence of six psychotic-like symptoms (i.e., see a vision others couldn't see, hear voices others couldn't hear) was assessed by self-report. These symptoms were combined into a single binary (any vs. none) variable and analyzed using logistic regression, accounting for the complex survey design. Models were adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, marital status, birth order, and history of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Approximately 9% (n = 103) of respondents reported at least one psychotic-like symptom. In fully-adjusted models, paternal age was significantly associated with experiencing psychotic-like symptoms (χ2 = 13.34, p = .010). Relative to respondents whose fathers were aged 25 to 29 at the time of their birth, those with fathers aged > 35 had 2.12 times higher odds (95% confidence interval: 1.08–4.16) of psychotic-like symptoms. There was no relationship between maternal age (younger or older) and psychotic-like symptoms (χ2 = 0.54, p = .909). Older paternal, but not maternal, age at birth is associated with psychotic-like symptoms in adult offspring.