Data shows that by their 40s, adults born prematurely are more likely to have below average incomes and work in manual jobs.
Children born prematurely do worse at school and earn less as adults than those born at full term, a study found.
By their 40s, adults born prematurely were more likely to have below average incomes and work in manual jobs, data showed.
A team led by Professor Dieter Wolke, of
the University of Warwick, looked at studies in Britain, Germany and Ireland that tracked children over their lifetimes.
Premature babies - born before 37 weeks - make up 7 per cent of UK births.
The number has risen in recent decades, and infants born as early as 17 weeks can now survive.
