Moderately preterm birth is associated with a significantly increased risk of COPD and lung function deficits well into the sixth decade of life, a landmark study shows.

The detrimental effect of prematurity is further compounded by smoking, the researchers say in calling for more targeted health education and interventions for these high-risk individuals.

Although preterm birth has already been linked to reduced lung function in patients in their early 30s, the University of Melbourne-led team are the first to demonstrate that these effects persist through to middle age.

“This long-term impact of prematurity will impose an increasingly substantial burden on the health system as larger numbers of very to moderate preterm survivors reach their 50s and 60s in coming decades,” they wrote in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.