If you thought that only late motherhood increased the risk of children having birth defects, then think again. According to the research work done at Columbia University College of physicians and surgeons, New York University School of medicine and Ministry of Health, children fathered by older men run a much higher risk of developing schizophrenia. Their findings provide strong evidence that man, like, women; have a biological clock when it comes to having children. 

The study contradicts the common belief that while older women run higher risk of having babies with birth defects, men face no such risk when fathering children even at an advanced age. The child's risk of developing the devastating mental illness, which is a group of psychotic disorders marked by delusionary thinking, hallucinations and bizarre physical behavior; rises dramatically and steadily as the age of the father increases.

The researchers reviewed the records of 87, 907 people born in Jerusalem from 1964 to1976. They found that men between the ages of 45 and 49 were twice as likely as those under 25 to have children who develop schizophrenia. Men, who are 50 or older, have three times the risk of the father under 25.

26.6% of the schizophrenia cases could be attributed to the father's age, while the age of the mother plays no roll. Schizophrenia is a poorly understood combination of genetic and environmental factors. It afflicts 1% of people world wide and according to researcher, this is the first psychiatric disease that has been linked to advancing paternal age.