Inflammation Genes Show Age-Dependent Link With Autism

Early Respiratory Infections Tied to Premature Death Later in LifeAfter adjusting for certain baseline factors, people who had lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis or pneumonia before age 2 years were almost twice as likely to die from a respiratory disease by age 73 years compared with those who were not infected as children.The majority of deaths from respiratory problems were due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to the results from 3589 UK participants included in the analysis.The researchers did not find a link between lower respiratory tract infections in childhood and higher risks of premature death from other causes.The link might be driven by factors such as maternal smoking that the researchers could not account for, the authors of an associated comment noted in The Lancet.Still, the study "adds to the evidence that adults whose chronic lung disease has been attributed to smoking-related effects might also have disease resulting from childhood exposures that are largely preventable," the comment's authors wrote.