7 Healthcast: Men’s biological clock

Listen up ladies. Hear that? It's the ticking of your man's biological clock. Once thought to be just a woman's concern. New research is showing that men, too, may have cause to worry that waiting to father a child may not be such a good idea, after all.

Dr. Harry Fisch is a professor of urology at Columbia University Medical Center and author of the book "The Male Biological Clock."

"As a man ages, the sperm ages too, Dr. Fisch said. "Every cell in the body ages. And it turns out that the DNA can be disrupted in a way that causes babies to be born with genetic problems."

Problems like an increased risk of Down syndrome, schizophrenia, and autism.

"And this is just the tip of the iceberg because we're just starting to look into these disorders and the more we're looking, the more we're finding," Dr. Fisch said.

And 40 percent of the cases of infertility in this country are due to men.

"Starting in their twenties, men will lose about 1 percent of testosterone every year," Dr. Fisch said.

Dave Zinczenko is editor in chief of men's health magazine.

"When it comes to the whole issue of the biological clock, if hers is Big Ben, his is a pocket watch that, though concealed, is still ticking away," Zinczenko said.

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