As adults, women born prematurely are smaller than their full-term sisters, according to a large study.
The researchers do not put forward an explanation, but an observation: in siblings, women born prematurely, before 32 weeks, tend to be smaller than their sisters born at term. The observation comes from Swedish work published in the journal American Journal of Epidemiology.
2.3 cm on average
Researchers reviewed data from more than 200,000 women over the age of 18, covering the period 1991-2009, to better understand the long-term effects of events occurring before, during or after pregnancy.
According to their calculations, women born prematurely are 2.3 centimeters shorter on average, compared to their sisters born at term. “These 2.3 centimeters of difference may appear negligible, but to put it in perspective, women born during the Great Famine in China between 1959 and 1961, who suffered from severe malnutrition very early in life, were around. 1.7 centimeters smaller once adults ”, specify the authors.
The literature shows that premature babies are smaller at birth, but they tend to recover from this height delay later, especially in late adolescence. “These data show that women born very premature did not reach the size they were supposed to have, given that of their parents and siblings.”
.
