Posted: 9/20/11 05:38 PM ET

Premature birth will be the leading source of infant mortality in western world, but far less may be known with what long-term impact -- if any -- being born before 37 weeks may have on the person's health.

Now, new information suggests that preterm babies possess a greater risk of mortality within their late teens, 20s and to their 30s than their full-term counterparts. As well as the earlier a baby exists, the more his / her probability of death during the early adulthood.

Researchers writing inside Journal of the American Medical Association viewed records from more than 600,000 individuals born in Sweden in the 1970s -- 5 % of whom were born preterm -- and followed them around 2008.

They discovered that premature babies who got through their novice of life were built with a greater risk of dying when they are young, as much as age 5. As they aged, that risk waned: from age 6 to 17, potential risk of mortality was on par with those of full-term babies. However, by young adulthood, age 18 to 36, the increased probability of death reappeared.

"This was because of many different causes, including congenital anomalies and respiratory, endocrine and heart disease," Dr. Casey Crump, a clinical professor of drugs at Stanford University then one from the study's lead authors, wrote in an email to HuffPost. "Some of those causes may have long latency . . . or might have cumulative effects which do not manifest until early adulthood. "

Outside expert Dr. Arthur D'Harlingue, a neonatologist at Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, declared that brain development can begin to play an important role in the short- and long-term health of premature babies -- a task that is not yet fully understood. For quite some time, experts assumed that 10 weeks after birth, a baby born 10 weeks early would've a brain comparable to what full-term newborn.

"But mental performance develops differently if it's encountered with different nutrition, to a new environment and also to different stresses after birth," he was quoted saying. "Brain MRIs of premature infants are finding a myriad of differences, which aren't always necessarily bad, but they're there. "

According towards the authors in the new study, premature births are up within the U. S. , increasing to 12 % of births within the last 3 decades.

D'Harlingue cited multiple medical factors because the cause, including increased obesity and diabetes among mothers, along with lifestyle issues like drug abuse and lack of prenatal care. Elective cesarean sections are likely involved, he explained over the counter antibiotics.

The March of Dimes, a business that actually works to combat premature birth, has questioned the role medically unjustified C-sections may participate in the risk for prematurity. "Women should delay until a minimum of 39 weeks to schedule an induced labor or C-section, unless you'll find medical conditions that help it become essential to deliver earlier," its website states.

But the modern study's authors say that premature birth should not be a source of fear for would-be parents.

"Most the younger generation who were born preterm have a high level of function superiority life," Crump told HuffPost. "Although we found out that preterm birth was associated with increased mortality in young adulthood, absolutely the risk of dying was still low -- below 1 per 1,000 people per year. "

As for parents of premature babies, the ones individuals born prematurely, learning the possible risks, he explained, is effective:

"It's a lot more essential for survivors of preterm birth in order to avoid other risks for disease such as smoking and obesity to counterbalance the increased risks that we found. "

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