‘Exciting’ questions raised
The study “raises several exciting research questions, including the possibility of early prevention and intervention,” Maj Vinberg, MD, PhD, clinical professor, department of clinical medicine, University of Copenhagen, said in the release.
She said she agrees there are likely to be different factors at play at different ages, with the risk for bipolar disorder associated with younger-age parenthood more likely to be related to socioeconomic status.
For older parents, “there has been a lot of speculation around the father’s age especially, which everybody thought didn’t matter,” said Dr. Vinberg, who was not involved with the research.
“But you might have some epigenetic changes as you grow older that might transfer into the next generation,” given that there is 20 years of additional exposure to potential epigenetic changes between a man aged 25 years and one aged 45 years, she noted.
Dr. Vinberg also highlighted that there could be cases of undiagnosed bipolar disorder among the younger parents, and she noted that “men with bipolar disorder tend to have more children,” particularly during manic phases.
She explained that if someone were to get divorced at 35 years of age, then have a new manic episode at 45 “and have a new wife and children, I don’t know whether it’s possible to correct for that.”
The research is supported by a fellowship from “la Caixa” Foundation. The investigators have reported no relevant financial relationships. Dr. Vinberg reported having relationships with Lundbeck and Janssen.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.