One father in every 25 may unknowingly be raising a child he thinks is his own, but was in fact sired by another.
A British medical team from John Moores University in Liverpool, led by Professor Mark Bellis, reviewed more than 50 years of research and conference findings into 'paternal discrepancy', the situation where the supposed father is not the biological father. Their study is published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
The findings vary widely: Where a man suspected he was not the father, tests in the United States and Europe found paternal discrepancy in almost 30 per cent of cases. But where the father had no reason to doubt his paternity, and tests were conducted for other reasons, rates were far lower, and an average of 17 such studies gave a paternal discrepancy rate of a little under 4 per cent.
The authors warn that increasing use of genetic testing for diagnosis, treatment and identification is likely to boost the rates of paternal discrepancy, making the need to determine the true rate more pressing.
Causes of paternal discrepancy include infidelity, a change of partner or, very occasionally, an error in artificial insemination.
At present, the report says, there lack proper disclosure policy for those working in the healthcare and criminal justice systems, and support services for those affected.
The authors argue that as advances in genetic techniques allow paternal discrepancy to be discovered, clear guidance is needed on when and how it is disclosed.
This is underscored by the potential of the discovery to lead to violence, wreaked families, and affected health of all involved. - AFP
A British medical team from John Moores University in Liverpool, led by Professor Mark Bellis, reviewed more than 50 years of research and conference findings into 'paternal discrepancy', the situation where the supposed father is not the biological father. Their study is published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
The findings vary widely: Where a man suspected he was not the father, tests in the United States and Europe found paternal discrepancy in almost 30 per cent of cases. But where the father had no reason to doubt his paternity, and tests were conducted for other reasons, rates were far lower, and an average of 17 such studies gave a paternal discrepancy rate of a little under 4 per cent.
The authors warn that increasing use of genetic testing for diagnosis, treatment and identification is likely to boost the rates of paternal discrepancy, making the need to determine the true rate more pressing.
Causes of paternal discrepancy include infidelity, a change of partner or, very occasionally, an error in artificial insemination.
At present, the report says, there lack proper disclosure policy for those working in the healthcare and criminal justice systems, and support services for those affected.
The authors argue that as advances in genetic techniques allow paternal discrepancy to be discovered, clear guidance is needed on when and how it is disclosed.
This is underscored by the potential of the discovery to lead to violence, wreaked families, and affected health of all involved. - AFP
