The impact of early life infections on non-communicable diseases

A number of associations confirm that a broad spectrum of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) can stem from infections, but evidence remains limited.

Of particular interest are infections that occur during vulnerable early life stages, as they hold the potential to trigger developmental adaptations of various organ systems with life-long consequences.

The ""Early Life Infections and NCDs"" (ELIaD) project aims to elucidate the role of early life infections on NCDs development by bridging existing data on infections with information on NCDs and their intermediate phenotypes in children across Europe.

Leveraging the extensive resources of the EU Child Cohort Network, ELIaD will use existing harmonized prospective data on neurodevelopmental, cardiometabolic, and respiratory health outcomes linked to major NCDs.

Simultaneously, the project will pioneer with the development of harmonised variables on infections in the child-cohorts that is currently lacking.

Detailed prospective information on sociodemographic, lifestyle and environmental characteristics will be integrated to assess confounding, mediation and effect modification of the associations. Analyses will particularly take into account specific age windows of susceptibility.

The project will create and disseminate new knowledge on links between early life infections and NCDs in children and will identify vulnerable groups.

A key output of ELIaD will be the creation of a large open dataset on infections and NCDs in children, which will allow further investigation of causal links (e.g. with gastrointestinal diseases), in-depth investigations into the underlying mechanisms and the extension of evidence into adulthood.

The outcomes of this research will play a vital role in shaping public health policies geared towards the prevention and control of NCDs.

The project combines researcher's skills with those of the supervisor and his team at the host institute facilitating cross-disciplinary knowledge exchange and training.