Becoming a father for the first time is an experience that Italian men increasingly move forward in time, more than is done in other European countries. The most recent Istat data indicate that in Italy you become a father on average at 35.8 years oldwhile in France at 33.9 years, in Germany at 33.2, in England and Wales at 33.7 years. An increasingly frequent phenomenon compared to the past which would concern around 70% of new Italian fathers: this means that one man in 3 is still childless over the age of 36. The picture is drawn on the eve of Father's Day by the experts of the Italian Society of Andrology (Sia) who recall the importance of anticipating paternity and, where not possible, of preserving fertility from a young age, especially through a healthy lifestyle.
There the tendency to delay fatherhood, andrologists remind us, is not without consequences: numerous scientific evidence demonstrates that the functional characteristics of the spermatozoon, i.e. motility, morphology and even DNA damage, worsen with increasing age. Added to all this is the fact that as age advances, the time of exposure to outdoor pollutants increases, such as microplastics which in recent years have proven to be a significant problem for male fertility. Furthermore, climate changes with the increase in global temperature also have a negative impact on male fertility, demonstrated by the volumetric reduction of testicles in the general population.
“In Italy – explains Alessandro Palmieri, president of SIA and professor of Urology at the Federico II University of Naples – the age at which you have your first child has increased by 10 years, going from 25 at the end of the 90s to around 36 today, which places our country at the top of the average age of conception in Europe. A phenomenon that concerns almost 70% of new Italian fathers. It follows “precisely” that one man in 3, once this threshold is exceeded, is still childless. This means that in the space of a few decades we have gone from a situation in which only a small minority reached the age of 35 without children to one in which the majority of the male population postpones beyond this threshold the first experience of fatherhood”. Our society “is assigning a late role to reproduction, forgetting that fertility, both male and female, has its maximum peak between the ages of 20 and 30 and that the fertilizing potential of the male is in sharp decline.”
As we age, Palmieri points out, “fertility decreases because sperm cells also 'age' and we must teach the young generations the importance of healthy fertility at the right time which must be preserved from a young age”. For this reason, Sia, in collaboration with the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology of the University of Catanzaro, has developed a new supplement with positive effects on male health in general, including fertility.
“The aim of modern medicine is not only to cure, but above all to prevent and from this concept – explains Tommaso Cai, director of the urology operational unit of the Trento hospital and secretary of the SIA – was born the compound called Drolessane, a mix of 7 natural substances, two of which have specific effects on male fertility. This is escin extracted from the seeds and shell of the horse chestnut, a powerful antioxidant useful in preserving fertility, but also for preventing the symptoms of chronic prostatitis, a pathology which is also implicated in the reduction of male fertility”. another substance allied to male fertility “is lycopene, a nutrient present in tomatoes, which according to a study by the University of Sheffield, published in the 'European Journal of Nutrition', could increase sperm quality and combat male infertility, protecting from the harmful effects of free radicals”, explains Cai.
Fatherhood after 45? Harmful for children
But that is not all. Men who delay fatherhood, especially after the age of 45, not only face fertility problems but can also put the health of their children at risk, warn experts from the Italian Society of Andrology.
“While it is known that for women after the age of 35 there can be physiological changes that affect conception, pregnancy and child health – explains Cai again – however, most men are unaware of the impact of age due not only to the natural decline in testosterone, but also to the loss of 'fitness' of the sperm which can also lead to changes in the sperm which are passed on from parents to children in their DNA. It is well documented that conceiving at an older age carries the risk of the baby being born or developing health problems over time“.
According to a study published in Nature, every year more of the father would lead to an increase of 1.51 new genetic mutations in the children, 25% more than those that depend on the mother. Another study, also published in Nature, suggests that children of older fathers have a higher risk of autism and schizophrenia in their children. “Ultimately, just like female fertility – concludes Alessandro Palmieri, SIA president and professor of Urology at the Federico II University of Naples – male fertility is also time-dependent. It is therefore essential to dispel the myth of the fertile man at all ages and instead promote information, prevention and preservation strategies for male fertility, starting from a young age, since once established the damage is not reversible”.
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