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Advanced Maternal Age Associated with AIS?

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  • Advanced Maternal Age Associated with AIS?

    "At present there are three probable genetic mechanisms for the inheritance of AIS – autosomal dominance (this produces a high proportion of affected members in a family), X – linked transmission (X is the female sex chromosome) and what is called multifactorial. The last of these is particularly important and multiple genes (a gene is an active or functional segment of DNA which makes up a chromosome) are implicated. It is now known that environmental factors, using this term in a broad but not precisely defined way, play a key role in multifactorial inheritance. This is why research on the genetics of scoliosis in Australia needs to be done in this country. As yet it cannot be determined on clinical and X-ray evidence alone which form of inheritance has resulted in curve development in any one AIS patient.

    An Australian study determined that AIS in this country is associated with advanced maternal age (an environmental factor) as it is in the United Kingdom. Further, the children of older mothers tend to have more severe curvatures. As there is now an established trend in our society to defer pregnancy until the late 20s and early 30s, it seems likely that AIS will become more common and curves larger."

    http://www.scoliosis-australia.org/s...tic_basis.html

    (Okay, I admit I was 35 when I had my daughter).

  • #2
    then please explain why, if the mother is "older," why all the children do not have AIS...why would one out of three female children have it...and not all children of "older" mother...or why would one out of 5 children have it...?

    don't you love how mothers are blamed, in one way or another, for everything...?

    i think the researchers need to consider their theories more carefully...
    seems they set out to try to prove a theory that seems shaky from the get go...
    and i think, personally, that so many times, the choice of what they want to prove or disprove says more about the researchers than about the disease being investigated...
    just my opinion....

    jess

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    • #3
      My wife was 32 when Scott was born. I wonder at what age the risk goes up.

      Many childhood diseases are associated with advanced maternal age.

      Type 1 Diabetes (which scientists suspect is triggered by a virus) is one example.

      Older Maternal Age Linked to Incidence of Type 1 Diabetes

      the reviewers found that there was an overall 5 percent increase in childhood type 1 diabetes risk for each five-year increase in the age of the mother (risks ranged from an odds ratio of 0.88 for mothers younger than 20 years to an odds ratio of 1.10 for mothers aged 35 or older).

      Comment


      • #4
        It always brings a smile to my face when I read abstracts that talk about genetics.

        At present there are three probable genetic mechanisms for the inheritance of AIS – autosomal dominance (this produces a high proportion of affected members in a family), X – linked transmission (X is the female sex chromosome) and what is called multifactorial.
        Maybe these guys didn't get the memo. Nobody has proven that inherited genes trigger AIS.

        Then comes this part...
        An Australian study determined that AIS in this country is associated with advanced maternal age (an environmental factor) as it is in the United Kingdom. Further, the children of older mothers tend to have more severe curvatures. As there is now an established trend in our society to defer pregnancy until the late 20s and early 30s, it seems likely that AIS will become more common and curves larger."
        Evidently at least 2 different studies found that advanced maternal age (environment) was a risk factor.

        These guys placed more faith in their hypothesis on genetics then the actual research which pointed squarely at the environment. 8-)
        Last edited by Dingo; 01-29-2011, 10:29 AM.

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        • #5
          what is considered advanced age?

          For this to be true it would follow that the incidence of scoliosis is increasing as more and more women delay having children. Is there any evidence of this? And at what age does the risk go up?

          Anecdotally, my mom was 28 when she had me, which is pretty normal or even young by today's standards. But my older sister, who was born when my mom was 25, doesn't have scoliosis so I guess that fits. But what happens in those 3 years that means the difference between no detectable scoliosis and a 68* curve? My sister just had her first, a girl, at age 33. So we will be keeping an eye on her. I also have a half brother who was born when my step mother was in her early 40s. That would for sure put him at risk, if the gene is on my dad's side, but we don't know who else in the family has scoliosis except me. And I'm hoping because he's a boy he's less at risk anyway.
          1993, Age 13, 53* Right T Curve w/ Left L compensatory
          2010, Age 30, 63* or 68* (depending on the doc) Right T Curve w/ Left L compensatory

          http://livingtwisted.wordpress.com/

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          • #6
            Originally posted by mehera View Post
            For this to be true it would follow that the incidence of scoliosis is increasing as more and more women delay having children. Is there any evidence of this? And at what age does the risk go up?
            Excellent cut to the chase. I think you are good at this.
            Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

            No island of sanity.

            Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
            Answer: Medicine


            "We are all African."

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by mehera View Post
              For this to be true it would follow that the incidence of scoliosis is increasing as more and more women delay having children. Is there any evidence of this? And at what age does the risk go up?

              Anecdotally, my mom was 28 when she had me, which is pretty normal or even young by today's standards. But my older sister, who was born when my mom was 25, doesn't have scoliosis so I guess that fits. But what happens in those 3 years that means the difference between no detectable scoliosis and a 68* curve? My sister just had her first, a girl, at age 33. So we will be keeping an eye on her. I also have a half brother who was born when my step mother was in her early 40s. That would for sure put him at risk, if the gene is on my dad's side, but we don't know who else in the family has scoliosis except me. And I'm hoping because he's a boy he's less at risk anyway.
              Apparently there seems to be evidence because both Australia and the UK have studies that point in that direction. It seems strange that the US hasn't ventured down that path of study....or maybe they have, don't know. If not, why not? It could have something to do with the genes, the age of the egg, or it could just be that the mother has more time to have exposure to something in the environment.

              Here's another study from Sweden:


              J Pediatr Orthop. 1987 Jan-Feb;7(1):72-7.

              Thoracic adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: perinatal and environmental aspects in a Swedish population and their relationship to curve severity.
              Ryan MD, Nachemson A.

              Abstract
              A perinatal and environmental survey was done on 551 adolescent patients with idiopathic thoracic scoliosis to determine if maternal age, paternal age, patient's sex, birth order, season of birth, birth weight, weight at 10 years, socioeconomic group, or population density influenced the severity of the curve. No difference between mild and severe scoliotic patients emerged in any of the factors. A significant difference between the study group and the general population was found in maternal age. Scoliosis was commoner in higher socioeconomic groups. The rate of illegitimacy among scoliotic patients was half that expected. None of the factors examined was of value in predicting curve severity.

              http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3793915

              I personally think having and raising kids would have been much easier at a much earlier age and if it has large health consequences also, should surely be something society reflects on.
              Last edited by Ballet Mom; 01-29-2011, 01:48 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                Okay, here's a study from the US from 1990.

                J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1990 Jul;72(6):910-3.

                Influence of parental age on degree of curvature in idiopathic scoliosis.
                Henderson MH Jr, Rieger MA, Miller F, Kaelin A.

                Department of Medical Education, Alfred I. duPont Institute, Wilmington, Delaware 19899.

                Abstract
                One hundred and seventy-seven patients who had adolescent idiopathic scoliosis were followed from the time of the initial evaluation to skeletal maturity or arthrodesis. At that time, we analyzed the degree of curvature to determine if it was related to parental age at the time of the patient's birth. Patients who were born to mothers who were twenty-seven years old or more had a mean curve of 35.2 degrees, which was significantly greater (p = 0.02) than that of patients whose mothers were younger than twenty-seven years, who had a mean curve of 30.4 degrees. More patients whose mothers were twenty-seven years old or older ultimately needed arthrodesis than did those whose mothers were younger than twenty-seven years (26 compared with 12 per cent). Therefore, a maternal age of twenty-seven years old or more is a risk factor for greater progression of the curve and indicates a potential need for arthrodesis. No difference in the degree of curvature was seen when the patients were grouped according to paternal age.

                http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2365723

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                • #9
                  I suppose it could also be something that goes on in the womb or in delivery that doesn't occur in younger women also. Different hormones? Different delivery strategies? The chemical used to induce deliveries?

                  I know my daughter's shoulders got "stuck" when she was being delivered. They used forceps to unhook her and then she wouldn't move her shoulder once she was born. She had to be x-rayed to see if they had damaged her shoulder somehow. I've always wondered if that had something to do with her developing scoliosis.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Balletmom

                    So at least 4 studies, (UK, Australia, Sweden and the USA) found the same phenomenon?

                    I believe that makes maternal age the only risk factor that scientists have repeatedly confirmed in multiple studies. I'm surprised this isn't more well known.
                    Last edited by Dingo; 01-29-2011, 02:06 PM.

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                    • #11
                      if age 27 is the cut off...then i want to see A LOT of scoliosis in all those kids being born to women age 30 and higher...and there are A LOT of women who are "older" who are having babies...

                      where are those statistics...? where?

                      it doesn't matter to me personally, but i do not see the HUGE increase in scoli that should be there, considering how many women in their 30' and 40's who are having babies today! what is it...one out of 5 women having babies is over 30...2 out of 3? 4 out of 10? what are the numbers for the mama's...and then where are the corresponding numbers of babies developing scoliosis...?

                      why can't a hospital just follow 2000 women over age 27 who have babies...should be pretty simple, right?

                      jess

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                      • #12
                        Dingo,

                        Yes, it's very odd because I have read so much about scoliosis in the past few years and I've never run across that idea. I just happened upon it because I clicked a second link on the Australian scoliosis site that had the very interesting x-rays of the rotations without curve that I happened upon the other night. Amazing that maternal age hasn't been much more the focus of investigation.

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                        • #13
                          jrnyc

                          Scientists aren't saying that every child born of an older mother is going to have Scoliosis, only that the odds are greater. The numbers might not even be noticable until you examine a few hundred cases.

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                          • #14
                            Balletmom

                            Yes, it's very odd because I have read so much about scoliosis in the past few years and I've never run across that idea.
                            Maybe I'm forgetting something but I never heard about this before today and I've spent thousands of hours reading about AIS.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by jrnyc View Post
                              if age 27 is the cut off...then i want to see A LOT of scoliosis in all those kids being born to women age 30 and higher...and there are A LOT of women who are "older" who are having babies...

                              where are those statistics...? where?

                              it doesn't matter to me personally, but i do not see the HUGE increase in scoli that should be there, considering how many women in their 30' and 40's who are having babies today! what is it...one out of 5 women having babies is over 30...2 out of 3? 4 out of 10? what are the numbers for the mama's...and then where are the corresponding numbers of babies developing scoliosis...?

                              why can't a hospital just follow 2000 women over age 27 who have babies...should be pretty simple, right?

                              jess
                              This may or may not pan out in the big picture. It seems ripe to be false. Even if it does it seems like another case of a low signal to noise ratio wherein the small correlation is completely swamped out by the huge variance, it will never have any predictive power just as in the Katz et al. bracing study.
                              Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

                              No island of sanity.

                              Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
                              Answer: Medicine


                              "We are all African."

                              Comment

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