Study: Premature birth now leading cause of death for young children

LONDON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Premature birth is now the leading cause of death among children under age 5.

A new study, which tallied and analyzed the causes of death of young children all over the world, found that premature death now claims more lives each year than any single infectious disease.

Some 720,000 young children die each year due to health complications related to premature birth. Prematurely born babies are vulnerable as their vital organs are often not properly formed when they emerge from the womb.

While the new study -- published this week in the health journal Lancet -- may not sound like positive news, it is a sign that doctors are making progress in the fight against infectious diseases.

"The success we've seen in the ongoing fight against infectious diseases demonstrates that we can also be successful if we invest in prevention and care for preterm birth," study author Joy Lawn, a researcher at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said in a press release.

Vaccines, malaria-preventing bed nets, antimalarial medications, antibiotics, HIV drugs and other medical advancements have helped decrease yearly death totals for children under 5. But now research money will begin to shift into better understanding premature births and the health risks involved.

"Some 7,600 newborns die daily," explained Andres de Francisco, spokesman for the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. "We have an epidemic of preterm and newborn deaths that represents one of the greatest health challenges of the 21st century."

Some of the countries with the highest totals of premature birth deaths include India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and China.