Abstract
Aim of Study: To assess knowledge of the population in Saudi Arabia about health hazards affecting the offspring of fathers with advanced age at the time of conception.
Methods: This is a nationwide study that included 1,218 adults living in Saudi Arabia. A study questionnaire was designed for online data collection using the "Google Forms".
Results: Almost half of participants were males (49.4%), age of 60.3% was 20-40 years, 22.2% were working in the health sector, while 34.4% were working in other sectors. The majority of participants (93.7%) were Saudi, and 52.7% were married. Only 19% stated that advanced paternal age is above 40 years, 54.4% were aware that aged mothers have more impact on their offspring's health, 73.3% considered that age at marriage is increasing in the community, while 85.5% considered that there is a need to raise the public's awareness about the baby's health problems associated with fathers' ageing. Only 12% of participants had poor knowledge about possible impact of advanced father's age on offspring's health. Participants' knowledge about impact of father's age on his offspring's health differed significantly according to their age, with those aged above 40 years having the least proportion of good knowledge (9.0%, p=0.007) and also differed with their employment status, with those employed at other than health sectors having the least proportion of good knowledge (7.6%, p=0.001).
Conclusions: The public in Saudi Arabia mostly have poor knowledge about impact of advanced paternal age on offspring's health. Most of them feel the need to raise their awareness about offspring's health problems associated with father's ageing. It is recommended to raise their awareness regarding the fact fathers, mostly after the age of 40 years, experience decreased fertility, and constitute a high risk for congenital malformations among their offspring. Couples must be counselled on the impact of advanced paternal and maternal ages on negative pregnancy outcomes and impaired offspring health.