Early-life infections and life course health and disease in the EU child cohort network

Research into the developmental origins of, and lifecourse influences on, health and disease has a significant gap: infections. Clinical and subclinical infections are nearly universal in early life and can induce structural and functional changes in developing organ systems with life-long consequences. Emerging evidence links common childhood infections-such as Epstein-Barr virus, Cytomegalovirus and Helicobacter pylori-to so-called non-communicable diseases ranging from respiratory to neurodevelopmental and cardiometabolic diseases. Identifying infectious determinants of non-communicable diseases offers substantial opportunities for prevention and early intervention. We describe a newly developed infectious data resource within the EU Child Cohort Network, designed to enable triangulation of evidence on the impact of early life infections on children's health and long-term trajectories of disease. The network established in 2017, currently brings together 37 pregnancy and childhood cohorts from 16 predominantly European countries and follows over 300,000 children and their families from pregnancy through childhood and, in many cohorts, into adulthood. Cohorts include a comprehensive set of harmonized variables covering health and disease phenotypes (cardiometabolic, respiratory, and mental) that are also well-established early indicators of later-life non-communicable disease risk. Building upon this, we present here the extensive infections data available in the cohorts ranging from questionnaires and registries to serological measurements for more than 20 pathogens. Harmonizing and integrating infection data within the EU Child Cohort Network supports a shift from viewing infections solely as causes of acute disease towards recognising them as integral components of the early-life exposome and potential determinants of lifelong health trajectories.

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Journal
European Journal of Epidemiology
Published
2026-08-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-026-01451-w
Primary Topic
Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Early-life infections and life course health and disease in the EU child cohort network

Henrique Barros, Klaus Bønnelykke, Per Magnus, Anne‐Marie Nybo Andersen et al.
European Journal of Epidemiology
Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
article

Early-life infections and life course health and disease in the EU child cohort network

Henrique Barros, Klaus Bønnelykke, Per Magnus, Anne‐Marie Nybo Andersen, Tarik Karramass, Manolis Kogevinas, Lill-Iren Schou Trogstad, Liesbeth Duijts, Mariona Bustamante, Marieke Welten, Demetris Avraam, Marianna Karachaliou, FW Hamilton, Carlota Dobaño, Aitana Lertxundi, Sunil Bhopal, Payam Dadvand, George Davey Smith, Vincent W. V. Jaddoe, John Wright, Tim Waterboer, Sabrina Llop, Marie-Noëlle Dufourg, Mireia Gascon, Martine Vrijheid, Marie-Aline Charles, Susana Santos, Nic J. Timpson, Lucy Pembrey, Nicklas Brustad
article en

Abstract

Research into the developmental origins of, and lifecourse influences on, health and disease has a significant gap: infections. Clinical and subclinical infections are nearly universal in early life and can induce structural and functional changes in developing organ systems with life-long consequences. Emerging evidence links common childhood infections-such as Epstein-Barr virus, Cytomegalovirus and Helicobacter pylori-to so-called non-communicable diseases ranging from respiratory to neurodevelopmental and cardiometabolic diseases. Identifying infectious determinants of non-communicable diseases offers substantial opportunities for prevention and early intervention. We describe a newly developed infectious data resource within the EU Child Cohort Network, designed to enable triangulation of evidence on the impact of early life infections on children's health and long-term trajectories of disease. The network established in 2017, currently brings together 37 pregnancy and childhood cohorts from 16 predominantly European countries and follows over 300,000 children and their families from pregnancy through childhood and, in many cohorts, into adulthood. Cohorts include a comprehensive set of harmonized variables covering health and disease phenotypes (cardiometabolic, respiratory, and mental) that are also well-established early indicators of later-life non-communicable disease risk. Building upon this, we present here the extensive infections data available in the cohorts ranging from questionnaires and registries to serological measurements for more than 20 pathogens. Harmonizing and integrating infection data within the EU Child Cohort Network supports a shift from viewing infections solely as causes of acute disease towards recognising them as integral components of the early-life exposome and potential determinants of lifelong health trajectories.

European Journal of Epidemiology
Universitat Jaume I (ES), University of Copenhagen (DK), North Bristol NHS Trust (GB), Institut national d'études démographiques (FR), Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NO), University of Crete (GR), Inserm (FR), Universitat de València (ES), University of the Basque Country (ES), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ES), German Cancer Research Center (DE), Universidade do Porto (PT), Université Paris Cité (FR), Heidelberg University (DE), Erasmus MC (NL), National Institute for Health and Care Research (GB), University of Bristol (GB), Sorbonne Université (FR), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord (FR), Sorbonne Paris Cité (FR), Centro de Investigación en Red en Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (ES), Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (ES), Biogipuzkoa Health Research Institute (ES), NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (GB), Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (DK), Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol (ES), Erasmus MC - Sophia Children’s Hospital (NL), Onkologikoa (ES), Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ES), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (ES), Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GB), Centre de Recherche Épidémiologie et Statistique (FR), Etude longitudinale française depuis l'enfance, Medical Research Council (GB), Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL)
European Commission, University of Bristol, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Medical Research Council, H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
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Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
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