Acute primary healthcare infections as comorbidities and predictors of severe disease

Aim (syfte och mål)Infections as comorbidities and predictors of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cancer are sparsely studied, especially in primary healthcare settings.

Additionally, early detection of T2D and cancer is difficult due to unspecific symptoms but essential to mitigate complications and mortality.

This project seeks to contribute to the understanding of the associations between common primary care infections (e.g. cystitis and pneumonia), T2D, and cancer; and examine whether infections can be used as early markers for T2D and cancer.Methodology (projektorganisation, tidsplan och vetenskapliga metoder)The project will use nationwide primary healthcare data and national registers, spanning over 22-years.

The applicant has led several already published studies based on the same data sources, demonstrating the robustness of the data and feasibility of the proposed project. The project will be conducted at the Center for Primary Healthcare Research, Region Skåne/Lund University. All studies will be finalized during the grant period (2025-2027).

Importance (Vad som är viktigt med den planerade forskningen) The project will examine infections as comorbidities to T2D and cancer and identify whether certain primary healthcare infections are predictors for T2D and cancer, which can lead to more timely interventions and improved disease management.

The obtained knowledge can be used for improving clinical practice in primary healthcare settings.