The profession of the future father can influence the development of vices in children
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Some professions of future fathers were associated with an increased risk of congenital malformations in children. As reported by MyHealthNewsDaily, the study was conducted by an international team of specialists from the US and the Netherlands under the leadership of Andrew Olshan from the American University of North Carolina. A report on their work is published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Olshen and his colleagues studied data on the 14,000 Americans who were born between 1997 and 2004. In addition, the researchers conducted a telephone survey among mothers of newborns. In particular, women were asked about where the fathers of these children worked before they were conceived.
According to the study, about ten thousand children were born with various developmental malformations. A total of 60 types of congenital malformations were recorded. More than four thousand children were born healthy. The fathers were divided into 63 groups according to the areas of their employment, taking into account the possible impact of harmful production factors.
As the researchers found, about a third of professions were not statistically associated with any congenital malformations in children. This group included medical workers, architects, designers, fishermen, drivers of road and rail transport, servicemen, stonemasons, glass blowers, firemen and men engaged in metallurgical production.
The increased risk of congenital cataract, glaucoma and other malformations of the organs of vision was typical for children of photographers and photographic studio workers. Landscape designers and gardeners often had children with impaired intestinal development. For artists, the risk of having a baby with eye, ear, digestive tract, limb and heart defects was increased. In addition, an increased risk of congenital malformations was detected in offspring of hairdressers, cosmetologists, sawmill workers, printing houses, oil and gas, chemical and food industries, as well as mathematicians, physicists and office staff.