Empirical evidence suggests that paternal age at reproduction is the main factor determining spontaneous mutation rates in the nuclear DNA of humans. The age-related accumulation of DNA damage in parental germ cells (due to continuous exposure to natural radiation and mutagens) has been associated with postponed life-shortening effects in offspring in a way similar to delayed radiation effects. This leads to the hypothesis that offspring born to older fathers should have higher age- specific death rates and lower life expectancy than offspring born to younger fathers. Initial scientific evidence designed to explore the relationship between father's age and offspring longevity tends to support this hypothesis, but these studies have been based on small sample sizes and the link between parental age at conception and offspring longevity has not been fully explored. The primary specific aim of this pilot project is to increase the sample size of the population designed to assess the magnitude of the independent association between paternal and maternal age at conception and longevity of offspring using cross generational data on European royal and nobility families from the German edition of the Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels (the Gotha Almanac ). This is a prelude to a larger study on the same issue involving additional data on this and other European royal and nobility families as well as data from the Mormon genealogical records and other possible sources of data that link generations.
