As the symptoms of aging appear, the telomeres – the ends of the chromosomes in which the cells' DNA is packed – shorten and the possibility of experiencing genetic errors that lead, for example, to cancer increases. However, the older a man is when he becomes a father, the longer the telomeres that his children tend to have and, therefore, the longer their life expectancy, according to a study coordinated by Dan TA Eisenberg , from Northwestern University (USA), and published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
The study was based on 2,000 men who were 15 and 43 years old at the time of the birth of their sons or daughters . The scientists extended the research to a second generation, finding that the effect detected was cumulative: the older the grandfather was when the father was born, the longer the grandson's telomeres were. That second analysis included 234 grandchildren. Therefore, delaying the reproductive age in men increases longevity and could reduce diseases associated with aging (dementia, Parkinson's, etc.).
However, scientists caution that the research should not yet be taken as a recommendation that men reproduce later in life, as previous studies show that there is an increased risk of mutations and autism in offspring as parents age .
