Study: Older Dads Tied To Bipolar Disorder In Offspring

I'm really not sure what to make of this Swedish study, so here's what's being reported by the AP:

"Children born to older fathers face a greater chance of developing bipolar disorder, according to one of the largest studies linking mental illness with advanced paternal age. Previous research has connected schizophrenia and autism with older dads, and a Danish study published last year added bipolar disorder to the list. The new study led by researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institute strengthens the evidence.

"The leading theory is that older men's sperm may be more likely to develop mutations. Even so, the odds of a person becoming bipolar are so low that the study's authors said it shouldn't dissuade older men from becoming fathers.

"Researchers analyzed Swedish national-registry data from more than 80,000 people, including 13,428 with bipolar disorder who were born between 1932 and 1991. The risks started increasing around age 40 but were strongest among those 55 and older. Children born to these dads were 37 percent more likely to develop bipolar disorder than those born to men in their 20s."

What with the degree to which bipolar disorder is misdiagnosed, I have to wonder what the researchers did to control for that problem in their study. You also have to wonder how applicable Swedish data is to the US and other countries.

And here's what really left me wondering from one press account:

"Though the finding doesn't explain what might cause some older men to have bipolar children, it 'reinforces the notion that there's a strong biological component to this,' said Dr. Harold Pincus, vice chairman of psychiatry at Columbia University."

Does it?

Weirdly, in its account of the study, Reuters used the occasion to pimp for Seroquel:

"Last month, an international research team linked two genetic variants to an increased risk for the disease, which is often treated with AstraZeneca Plc's blockbuster drug Seroquel. The condition often runs in families."

It's really weird for a wire service to single out a drug in such a manner since the study isn't about a drug or treatment in any way. But, then, we live in weird times.