ArticleCurrent epidemiology reports2017
Fathers Matter: Why It's Time to Consider the Impact of Paternal Environmental Exposures on Children's Health.
Article in Current epidemiology reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 125 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review on the role of paternal factors in human placental development, function, and pregnancy-related disorders.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2025Pooled it
- The association between preconception cannabis use and gestational diabetes mellitus: The Preconception Period Analysis of Risks and Exposures Influencing health and Development (PrePARED) consortium.Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology · 2024Pooled it
- Parental Preconception Adversity and Offspring Health in African Americans: A Systematic Review of Intergenerational Studies.Trauma, violence & abuse · 2023Pooled it
- The impact of paternal alcohol, tobacco, caffeine use and physical activity on offspring mental health: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Reproductive health · 2021Pooled it
- Work-Related Stress, Physio-Pathological Mechanisms, and the Influence of Environmental Genetic Factors.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Associations Between Paternal Pre-Conceptional Body Mass Index and Lifestyle Factors and Offspring Weight Development.Pediatric obesity · 2026Trial
- Effects of Paternal Obesity on Fetal Development and Pregnancy Complications: A Prospective Clinical Cohort Study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Trial
- Paternal Exposure to the Neonicotinoid Pesticide Clothianidin Alters Sperm MicroRNA Profiles in Mice and Intergenerationally Reduces Locomotor Activity in Male Offspring.Journal of applied toxicology : JAT · 2026Article
- Exploring parental prenatal influences on child health: A multicohort study and data visualisation tool.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
- Lessons learned from longitudinal biomonitoring and birth cohort studies: informing the future of reproductive health research in Canada.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2026Article
- Introducing theJournal of marriage and the family · 2026Article
- Associations of maternal and paternal characteristics with cardiac malformations using real-world data and machine learning.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- Paternal and maternal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and birth outcomes: a multi-country cohort study.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2025Article
- NorthPop: a prospective population-based birth cohort study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- A State of the Science Review of Human Health Effects of the Michigan Polybrominated Biphenyl Contamination after Five Decades.Environmental health perspectives · 2025Review
- Maternal, paternal, and dual-parental alcohol exposures result in both overlapping and distinct impacts on behavior in adolescent offspring.Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- Paternal and Maternal Exposures to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Child Behavioral Difficulties: A Parental Comparison Study.Environmental science & technology · 2025Article
- Paternal and maternal preconception and maternal pregnancy urinary concentrations of parabens in relation to child behavior.Andrology · 2025Article
- Associations between a paternal healthy lifestyle score and its individual components with childhood overweight and obesity.Andrology · 2025Article
- Nepal Family Cohort study: a study protocol.BMJ open · 2024Article
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeDespite accumulating evidence from experimental animal studies showing that paternal environmental exposures induce genetic and epigenetic alterations in sperm which in turn increase the risk of adverse health outcomes in offspring, there is limited epidemiological data on the effects of human paternal preconception exposures on children's health. We summarize animal and human studies showing that paternal preconception environmental exposures influence offspring health. We discuss specific approaches and designs for human studies to investigate the health effects of paternal preconception exposures, the specific challenges these studies may face, and how we might address them. RECENT
findingsIn animal studies, paternal preconception diet, stress, and chemical exposures have been associated with offspring health and these effects are mediated by epigenetic modifications transmitted through sperm DNA, histones, and RNA. Most epidemiological studies have examined paternal preconception occupational exposures and their effect on the risk of birth defects and childhood cancer; few have examined the effects of low-level general population exposure to environmental toxicants. While the design and execution of epidemiological studies of paternal preconception exposures face challenges, particularly with regard to selection bias and recruitment, we believe these are tractable and that preconception studies are feasible. SUMMARY: New or augmented prospective cohort studies would be the optimal method to address the critical knowledge gaps on the effect of paternal preconception exposures on prevalent childhood health outcomes. Determining if this period of life represents a window of heightened vulnerability would improve our understanding of modifiable risk factors for children's health and wellbeing.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.