Q: I am a 61-year-old male. My question is am I too old to have children? I never met anyone I wanted to marry, but recently I have met a woman who is willing to marry me, but wants a family. She is still young enough to have a child. I am in good health.
A: The short answer is yes. You are quite likely to be still fertile at your age. In fact, I know men who have fathered children when in their 70s.
It is possible you may have some erectile difficulties and, if so, there are many treatments available these days, including Viagra.
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If all else fails, your new wife-to-be can receive artificial insemination, assuming her fertility is not a problem.
There may also be emotional and financial considerations. The average life expectancy of the Canadian male is about 75.2 years. This is from birth and the statistic includes infant mortalities and accidental deaths of young people, so if you have lived a healthy life until age 61 without any life-shortening conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer, you can expect to live into your 80s.
Assuming you live to 80 and your wife becomes pregnant immediately, the child would be only about 18 when you die. If you have made adequate financial provisions for your wife and child, then there is no problem.
My father was 64 when I was born, and he died when I was 20. One of the benefits of having an older father was that he was semi-retired for most of my childhood and so could spend a lot of time with me. Luckily my mother had a good job.
Canadian life expectancy
Q: Why does the average Canadian live longer than the average American? Do we have a healthier lifestyle?
A: In the year 2000, the life expectancy from birth for the average Canadian male was 75.2 years and for the female, 81.2 years. In the United States, the statistics show 72.5 years for men and 78.9 years for women. According to American statistics, heart disease was the major cause of death at 31.4 percent, cancer next at 23.3 and stroke third at 6.9 percent. If you combine the figures for heart disease and stroke, which some researchers do, then this category far outweighs any other cause of death.
African Americans have a 40 percent greater chance of heart disease than whites, so you can see how that would help to lower average age of death in Americans, as they form about 12 percent of the population. Another factor to take into consideration is the availability and access to health care. This is more variable in the U.S. than in Canada.
Leading indicators for poor health and a shorter life are: lack of exercise; obesity; smoking; substance abuse (alcohol or drugs); psychiatric illness; accidents and violence; environmental quality and immunization.
From the above list, it appears that Canadians may be less obese than Americans, exercise more and smoke less and have more uniform access to health services, indicating a generally healthier lifestyle.
Clare Rowson is a medical doctor with a practice near Belleville, Ont. Her columns are intended for general information only. Individuals are encouraged to also seek the advice of their own doctor regarding medical questions and treatments.
