New research suggests that people who were born premature are more likely to have lower mathematic abilities and to accumulate less wealth as adults.

Researchers found that preterm birth is associated with lower academic abilities in childhood, and lower educational attainment and less wealth in adulthood.

"Our findings suggest that the economic costs of preterm birth are not limited to healthcare and educational support in childhood, but extend well into adulthood," psychological scientist Dieter Wolke of the University of Warwick said in a statement. "Together, these results suggest that the effects of prematurity via academic performance on wealth are long term, lasting into the fifth decade of life."

For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 15,000 people who were born at between 28 and 42 weeks gestational age and who had available wealth information at age 42 years old.

They found that children who were born preterm tended to have lower wealth at age 42 and lower educational qualifications in adulthood than those who were born full-term. Individuals born preterm were more likely to be manual workers, more likely to be unemployed, more likely to report financial difficulties, and less likely to own a house than those who were born full-term, even after other potential factors were taken into account.

They also tended to demonstrate lower academic abilities in childhood, and for mathematics in particular.

"What is perhaps most surprising is that most of the children we studied were not very preterm--born, on average, only five weeks early -- and still we find these long lasting effects," Maartje Basten, co-author of the study, said in a statement.

While the overall size of the effects observed in the study are small, the fact that these effects emerge at all after four decades is remarkable, the researchers argue.

The findings are detailed in the journal Psychological Science.