New research suggests children who are born preterm have an increased risk of developing wheezing disorders or even asthma.
Researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of over 30 studies that encompassed about 1.5 million children to make their findings, a Public Library of Science news release reported.
The Maastricht University Medical Centre and The University of Edinburgh team found children born before 37 weeks of gestation were about 46 percent more likely to develop asthma or a wheezing disorder than those who were not born preterm.
Children born "very preterm" (before 32 weeks) were almost three times more likely to develop these conditions than those born on time.
The team estimated that if none of the children had been born preterm there would have been a 3.1 percent reduction in childhood wheezing disorder in the study population.
About 11 percent of all children were born preterm; that number has risen over the past few decades due to an improvement in preemie care. The researchers hope that by learning more about these risks preventative measures can be taken in the future.
Many of these babies are believed to develop non-communicable diseases.
"Current findings do not support prior suggestions that the association between preterm birth and wheezing disorders becomes less prominent with increasing age...instead, the strength of the association was similar across age groups [up to 18 years], suggesting that the pulmonary consequences of preterm birth tend to persist throughout the life course," the researchers said in the news release.
"There is compelling evidence that preterm birth-particularly very preterm birth-increases the risk of asthma. Given the projected global increases in children surviving preterm births, research now needs to focus on understanding underlying mechanisms, and then to translate these insights into the development of preventive interventions," they said.
