Parental age and characteristics of the offspring

Abstract

The relations of an offspring to its parents are complex, and the ways in which a parent may influence the characteristics of its offspring are many. This review focuses on the relations of parental age to intelligence, health outcomes, longevity and other characteristics of offspring. Many researchers have demonstrated that children of older parents tend to be more intelligent than do children of younger parents, although there are also some negative findings. Either teenage or advanced parental age is associated with risk of birth and health outcomes in offspring. Parental age at birth displays a negative association with offspring longevity. Parental age can also influence dominant characters, sex ratio, personality and development process of the offspring. To fully analyze the influence of parental age on the offspring is of great significance in deciding the optimal age for parenthood.