Internal medicine

Pediatrics

Cohort study

Bronchodilator

Vital capacity

Biology

Odds ratio

Diffusing capacity

DLCO

Asthma

Prospective cohort study

COPD

Lung

Premature birth

Gestational age

Pregnancy

Lung function

Cohort

Genetics

Medicine

The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

This is the first study to investigate the effect of prematurity on lung function into middle-age. Data show that very-to-moderate prematurity is associated with obstructive lung function deficits including COPD well into the sixth decade of life and that this effect is compounded by personal smoking.

Association between very to moderate preterm births, lung function deficits, and COPD at age 53 years: analysis of a prospective cohort study