United States: Premature babies, or babies born too early, face serious health problems right after birth. New research shows that they are also more likely to die earlier in life, with this risk lasting into their 30s. 

Dr. Asma Ahmed, who led the research, says understanding the long-term effects of being born premature can help doctors find better ways to keep these babies healthy as they grow up. 

Globally, thirty percent of all births can be diagnosed as preterm, which is delivery before the completion of the thirty-seventh week of pregnancy. Unfortunately, preterm birth has become the leading cause of death in newborns and only second to malaria amongst the under five children. 

As reported by the HealthDay, although most preemies survive well into their 40s, Ahmed noted that research now suggests they are more likely to die young than their post-mature counterparts for several years. 

she and her team studied records of 4,748,337 live births in Canadian women between 1983 and 1996. Of those, 6.9% were pre-term. 

These peeps were followed to the end of 2019 — a follow-up of 23 to 36 years after enrolment. 

In both University and Marand analyses, preterm birth was associated with an increased risk of death to 36 years of age. As would be expected the highest risks were seen in infancy; before one year and from one year to less than five years of age. 

” We also established that the stronger the category of [low birth weight], the higher the risk for early death and 28 weeks or below at birth is most vulnerable,” Ahmed explained in the Wake Forest news release. 

That was due to respiratory and circulatory illnesses and disorders, diseases of the digestive, nervous, and endocrine systems, infections, cancer, and congenital abnormalities. 

“These findings should offer evidence that preterm birth should be regarded as a major cause of mortality,” Ahmed stated. The risk still stays up the third and fourth decades of life. 

However, Saint Martin explained that long term care and follow up is also desired to minimize those risks during infancy. 

She further noted that more research is required and pointed to low- and middle-income countries where preterm birth rates are worst.