It s been shown previously that infants born prematurely suffer an increased risk of adverse health effects, but does this effect continue into adulthood? The answer seems to be yes but with a few qualifications.
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association tackled this question by examining the association between gestational age at birth and mortality over the first thirty-six years of life. Led by Dr. Casey Crump, a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University in California, researchers found that preterm babies, compared to babies born at full-term (37 to 42 weeks), face about double the risk of death when they are between 18 and 36 years of age. The increased risk of mortality was also seen among preemies when they were between the ages of 1 to 5; yet, interestingly, the association disappeared between the ages of 6 and 17.
The causes of death were attributed to congenital abnormalities and respiratory, cardiovascular, and endocrine problems. However, the increased risk of premature death in this population was not associated with cancer, neurological disorders, or accidents.
The authors speculate that the reason for the latency in increased mortality may be because some conditions naturally surface years after a stimulus (for instance, lung cancer typically arises after decades of smoking). It s also possible that life-saving treatments performed on premature babies at birth may cause problems later as children grow older.
Though the overall risk of premature death was still low less than 1 percent ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross believes the study underscores the importance of prenatal care. Women should maintain a healthy pregnancy for as long as possible, he says. And those who are contemplating an elective early delivery should be aware that giving birth even a couple of weeks ahead of schedule may confer an increased risk of either immediate or latent complications on the mother and child.