Preemie babies; adult asthma

Premature babies run a higher risk of long term asthma according to a new study. A new study shows that babies born between the 23rd and 27th week of gestation run double the likelihood of having asthma as adults.

The study looked at more then 600,000 Swedish adults born in the 1970s. They found no significant risk of adult asthma in those born after the 27th week of gestation.

The findings were somewhat unexpected said lead researcher Dr. Casey Crump, an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University. The surprise is that the asthma lasts until adulthood. Prior to this study, researchers believed the asthma was outgrown as children became adults.

The researchers point out that advances in medicine which support the survival of extreme preemies has now given them a large enough pool to survey and study. No study like this, examining the long term effects of extreme preterm birth has been done before this one. For this study, the total number of extreme preterm births totaled 4% of the sample population.

While the study does not prove a causal relationship between preterm birth and asthmas, the researchers do not discount it. “Preterm birth can result in immature lung development, altered immune function that is needed for normal lung function, and increased susceptibility to infection or environmental factors such as smoking,” explained Dr. Crump.

Awareness of the potential for this disease should help parents of preemie babies.

Source: Reuters