Father's Diet May Be Linked to Child's Birth Defects Risk -- Study

Father's diet before conception has been linked to his baby's risk of birth defects, a new study conducted on mice suggests.

The research carried out by researchers from McGill University in Montreal showed that the rate of birth defects was 28 per cent higher per litter of baby mice if their fathers were fed a diet deficient in vitamin B9 or folate compared to litters where both parents were fed a healthy diet, reported the study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.

It's commonly known that folate, found in leafy green vegetables, cereals, fruit, beans and liver helps in preventing miscarriages and birth defects in humans if taken by the mother. Because of that, folate supplements are often recommended for women of childbearing age, especially if they are trying to become pregnant, and a lot of processed food is now enriched with folate. In men, folate deficiency is already known to reduce fertility.

According to Sarah Kimmins, associate professor of reproductive biology at McGill and the author of the study, "Many human populations, such as those in Canada's North, still don't have enough folate in their diets."

Kimmins, Head of Canada Research efforts in Epigenetics, reproduction and development, noted that mice are genetically very similar to humans. She added that the mechanism that appears to link a father's diet and his offspring's health works the same among mice and humans.

She suggested the findings therefore have implications for public health messages about the prevention of birth defects, which currently target mothers exclusively.

"There's a perception that's no longer true, that really needs to be challenged, that the father can do whatever he wants in terms of what he eats, what kind of lifestyle he lives, whether he takes drugs or not, and this isn't going to affect whether he has a healthy child or not," she said.

"Our research really shows that this isn't the case - men really need to think carefully about the life they're living because there is a potential for an impact on the offspring."