On Friday 8 May 2026 at 14:00, Mads Andersen defends his PhD dissertation entitled “Early-onset neonatal infection and neurodevelopmental impairment”. 

This PhD dissertation draws on a comprehensive dataset from the Danish national registries and health administrative data. It examines the association between invasive bacterial infections during the first week of life, including sepsis and meningitis, and the risk of long-term neurodevelopmental impairments. The first study evaluates the validity of early-onset neonatal infection diagnoses in the Danish National Patient Registry, while the following three cohort studies investigate the association between these infections and childhood outcomes, including school performance, neurodevelopmental disorders, and epilepsy.

The dissertation implies that children exposed to an early-onset neonatal infection are at an increased risk of long-term neurodevelopmental impairment. These findings highlight the need for improved prevention and treatment of infections in early life.

The summary is written by the PhD student.

The defence is public and takes place in Auditorium J116-113, Aarhus University Hospital. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Mads Andersen 
Mail: mads.andersen@clin.au.dk 
Phone: +45 31507977

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