Low birth weight effects linger in adults

SEATTLE, July 9 (UPI) -- Infants who weigh less than 5-and-a-half pounds at birth may have respiratory problems that persist well into adulthood, U.S. researchers said.

"We report a previously unrecognized excess risk of hospitalization for respiratory illnesses in young adults with a history of low birth weight," lead researcher Dr. Eric C. Walter of the University of Washington said in a statement. "Our findings suggest that not only are (low birth weight) survivors at increased risk for long-term respiratory disorders, but that these disorders are clinically significant and associated with increased health care utilization."

The researchers used Washington state hospitalization records dating from Jan. 1, 1998, to Dec. 31, 2007.

The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, found people with very low birth weight of less than 3.3 pounds or moderately low birth weight -- 3.3 to 5.5 pounds -- had an 83 percent and 34 percent higher risk, respectively, of hospitalization for respiratory diagnoses.

Those who had a history of very low birth weight had twice the risk of being hospitalized for asthma or respiratory infection and 2.6 times the risk of respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation.

Based on the findings, low birth weight may account for more than 22,000 adult hospitalizations per year, with charges in excess of $225 million per year, Walter said.