Certain Father’s Jobs Increase the Risk of Congenital Defects in Babies

Some professions of future fathers are linked with an increased risk of congenital malformations in babies. These conclusions were drawn by an international group of experts from the U.S. and the Netherlands.

The researchers examined the data obtained from 14,000 Americans born in the period from 1997 to 2004. It turned out that about 10,000 children were born with different developmental disabilities. In total, there were 60 types of birth defects. More than 4,000 children were born healthy. The fathers were divided into 63 groups according to the spheres of employment, taking into account the possible impact of harmful factors.

About a third of different occupations were not statistically associated with any congenital malformations in children. They include health care providers, architects, designers, fishermen, drivers of road and rail transport, the military, stonemasons, glass blowers, firefighters and the men employed in the metallurgical industry.

The increased risk of congenital cataracts, glaucoma and other malformations of the eyes were typical of the children of photographers and employees of photo studios. The babies of landscape designers and gardeners often gave birth to babies with developmental disorders of the intestine. The artists’ babies faced an increased risk of birth defects associated with eyes, ears, gastrointestinal tract, limbs and heart. In addition, the increased risk of congenital malformations was observed among the offsprings of hairdressers, beauticians, sawmill workers, the representatives of the printing, oil, chemical and food industries, as well as mathematicians, physicists, and office workers.