Individuals born preterm face an increased risk for death from all causes even into their third and fourth decades of life.

"The findings of this cohort study suggest that individuals born preterm were at increased risk of death from birth to their third and fourth decades of life, and the risks were higher with decreasing GA at birth," the study authors wrote. "Some of these associations may have been partly due to underlying health determinants that affected both PTB and mortality. These findings suggest that [preterm birth] should be recognized as a risk factor for mortality and could inform preventive strategies. Additionally, they highlight the need for further follow-up studies to assess possible adverse consequences of [preterm birth] into adulthood.

The study was led by Asma M. Ahmed, PhD, MD, MPH, of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was published online on November 20, 2024, in JAMA Network Open.

The study relied on physician- or parent-reported data on gestational age, which may be subject to measurement errors. Including births from the 1980s and 1990s may limit generalizability to recent births due to advances in perinatal care. The researchers lacked information on maternal health and comorbidities, type of preterm birth, presence of congenital malformations, and maternal socioeconomic and lifestyle factors.

The research was supported by grant 438541 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Statistics Canada.