一些专家指出，这类突变最终导致的自闭症或精神分裂症案例占总数的20%到30%。剩下的病因可能是遗传的基因倾向以及环境因素等，已有众多研究以这些因素为课题。

　　In the end, these kinds of mutations may account for 20 to 30 percent of cases of autism, and perhaps schizophrenia, some experts said. The remainder is likely a result of inherited genetic predisposition and environmental factors that are the subjects of numerous studies.

　　斯蒂芬森博士和其他专家指出，男性作父亲的平均年龄的增加，极有可能是自闭症患儿增多的原因。和其他用来解释这一现象的理论不同(如疫苗)，科学家们同意这一理论有确凿证据的支撑。

　　Dr. Stefansson and other experts said that an increase in the average age of fathers had most likely led to more cases of autism. Unlike other theories proposed to explain the increase, like vaccinations, it is backed by evidence that scientists agree is solid.

　　但仅靠这种理论不能解释整体上确诊病例数量的增加，至少在美国是这样。政府数据显示，自1980年以来，父亲在40岁及以上的新生儿出生率增加了30%多，但自闭症确诊率却激增10倍，最近的政府调查显示的数据是，每88名8岁儿童中就有一人患病。

　　But this by itself hardly explains the overall increase in diagnoses, at least in the United States. The birthrate of fathers age 40 and older has increased by more than 30 percent since 1980, according to government figures, but the diagnosis rate has jumped tenfold, to 1 in 88 8-year-olds in the most recent government survey.

　　还不清楚精神分裂症的确诊率在这段时间内是否有增加。

　　And it is not clear whether the rate of schizophrenia diagnosis has increased at all in that time.

　　但是，密歇根大学(University of Michigan)的阿列克谢•S•孔德拉绍夫(Alexey S. Kondrashov)在配合这篇论文发表的评论中写道，若这些研究结果成立，并能适用于其他的大脑疾病，“那么收集并冷冻年轻男性的精子以待后用，不失为明智的个人选择。”

　　Nonetheless, if these study findings hold up and extend to other brain disorders, wrote Alexey S. Kondrashov of the University of Michigan, in an editorial accompanying the study, “then collecting the sperm of young adult men and cold-storing it for later use could be a wise individual decision.”

　　当然，这很大程度上取决于个人。西雅图华盛顿大学(University of Washington)的基因组科学教授埃文•E•艾希勒(Evan E. Eichler)说，“你要知道，这些突变绝大部分不会产生什么后果，而且有很多男性在50岁以后生下的孩子也很健康。”

　　That very much depends on the individual, of course. Said Evan E. Eichler, a professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, “You have to understand that the vast majority of these mutations have no consequences, and that there are tons of guys in their 50s who have healthy children.”