(CNN)Adults who had a lower respiratory tract infection such as bronchitis or pneumonia before the age of 2 may be at higher risk of dying prematurely from respiratory disease, according to a new study. Experts say the decades-long research may not directly apply to today's kids but shows how health effects can linger over a lifetime.
The study, published Tuesday in The Lancet, followed 3,589 people across England and Wales who were born in 1946 and looked at health and death records up to 2019.
The researchers found that people who had a lower respiratory tract infection during early childhood were 93% more likely to die by age 73 compared with those who didn't have a lower respiratory tract infection during early childhood.
