Baby girls born very premature could be almost three times more likely to grow into very short adults than those born at term, according to a study by New Zealand and Swedish researchers out Monday.

The study also found women born very premature - before 32 weeks - were 2.3 centimeters shorter on average as adults than their sisters born at term, or 37 to 41 weeks.

"We were a little surprised by the results," said lead author Dr Jose Derraik, of Auckland University's Liggins Institute.

"There is some evidence that babies who were born premature tend to be shorter in childhood, but they usually catch up with those born at term in late adolescence," Derraik said in a statement.

"But our study shows that women who were born very preterm fail to reach the stature you'd expect based on their parents' and siblings' heights."

The study with Uppsala University in Sweden was the latest collaboration to analyze data from more than 200,000 Swedish women collected from 1991 to 2008.

Researchers were yet to establish why premature birth should lead to shorter adult stature.

"It may be related to the fact that premature babies are often quite thin at birth," said Derraik.

A previous Liggins Institute study showed that small size at birth was associated with changes in the way growth hormone worked in the body, which could eventually reduce adult height.

source: Xinhua