Children born preterm are more likely to have asthma or COPD in adulthood, shows large study

Breathing problems are among the most common problems that babies born preterm have after birth. A new study of over 2.6 million people from Finland and Norway shows that such problems may extend at least up to middle age. The study found that babies born preterm are more likely to have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, in adulthood. Asthma and COPD are the most common forms of obstructive airways disease, meaning diseases that cause difficulty in airflow out from the lungs.