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Premature babies prone to lung disease later in life

DUSSELSDORF, Germany - Premature babies are more likely to develop lung disease when they become adults than babies who were born at full term, said Germany's Society for Pneumology and Respiratory Medicine (DGP).

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The DGP based its findings on the results of an Australian study published in the European Respiratory Journal which indicated that prematurely born babies, who receive artificial respiration, tend to develop abnormalities in their lungs in later years.

According to the findings, 71 per cent of participants suffered from lung-related problems such as shortness of breath or chronic coughing.

Three quarters of the people examined had measurably impaired lung functions.

The study examined 21 adults between the ages of 17 and 33 who were born up to four months prematurely, weighed less than 1,500 grams and who had to received artificial respiration for more than 28 days.

Pulmonologists advise people who were born prematurely not to start smoking, or if they already have, to quit immediately.

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