Advanced Maternal Age and the Future Health of the Offspring

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> We aimed to evaluate the association between advanced maternal age and the long-term health of the offspring. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> In this population-based cohort study, hospitalizations of offspring up to the age of 18 years were compared according to maternal age. The incidence of long-term hospitalizations of the offspring due to cardiovascular, endocrine, neurological, hematological, respiratory and gastro­intestinal morbidities was evaluated. Deliveries occurred between the years 1991 and 2014 in a tertiary medical center. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare cumulative morbidity incidence. Cox regression models were performed to control for confounders. <b><i>Results:</i></b> During the study period, 202,709 deliveries were included, of which 26,287 (12.9%) were in women aged 35–39 years, and 6,718 (3.3%) in women aged 40–50 years. Children born to older mothers did not have a significantly different cumulative incidence of long-term pediatric morbidities evaluated, as compared with the comparison group, using Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. In the Cox regression analyses, advanced maternal age did not exhibit an independent association with long-term morbidities of the offspring. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Despite the association of advanced maternal age with adverse maternal and immediate neonatal outcomes, there does not seem to be an association with the long-term morbidity of the offspring.