A lower respiratory tract infection before turning 2 years old was related to a 93% higher likelihood for a respiratory-related premature death in adulthood compared with no childhood infection, according to results published in The Lancet.“Current preventative measures for adult respiratory disease mainly focus on adult lifestyle risk factors such as smoking,” James P. Allinson, PhD,
A decades-long study that enrolled participants in the 1940s found that contracting a lower respiratory tract infection in early childhood was associated with a higher risk for premature death from respiratory disease in adulthood.