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Spontaneous abortion occurs in 10% to 15% of clinically recognized pregnancies. The most common cause, numerical chromosomal abnormalities, is highly correlated with maternal age. Increased maternal age also may be associated with nongenetic causes. But does paternal age affect risk for miscarriage?
In a retrospective case-control study, investigators used interview data from women in Jerusalem, collected during a pregnancy or immediately after delivery, from 1965 to 1968 or from l974 to 1976. Cases were 1506 women whose pregnancy preceding the interview had ended in a spontaneous abortion before 20 weeks gestation. Controls were 12,359 women whose previous pregnancy had ended in a live birth.
As expected, maternal age was strongly associated…