Associations between hospitalized infections in the first 24 months of life and risk of cancer in early-mid adulthood

IF 2.4 3区医学 Q3 ONCOLOGY

Cancer Epidemiology Pub Date : 2025-05-06 DOI:10.1016/j.canep.2025.102835

Dorthe C. Pedersen , Lise G. Bjerregaard , Karen Dybkær , Rikke K. Jacobsen , Danielle K. Longmore , David Burgner , Jennifer L. Baker , Julie Aarestrup

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

It is increasingly recognized that early life factors play a role in the rising prevalence of cancer in young adult life. Acute childhood infections may protect against development of cancer, but evidence is limited. We investigated whether infection-related hospital contacts during the first 24 months of life were associated with the risk of cancer in early-mid adult life in a large population-based Danish cohort.

Methods

We included 68,538 individuals (33,569; 49.0 % women) born 1977–1996 from the Copenhagen School Health Records Register. Using individual-level linkage to national registries, we obtained information on infection-related hospital contacts between birth and 24 months and early-onset cancer (diagnosed 15–45 years). Hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox regressions adjusted for maternal education.

Results

From birth to 24 months of life, 14,718 individuals (21.5 %) had at least one infection-related hospital contact. During follow-up, 788 individuals were diagnosed with cancer. Compared to individuals who did not have an infection-related hospital contact, those who had a least one had a lower risk of early-mid adulthood cancer (HR=0.82, 95 % CI: 0.68–0.98). We found limited evidence of a dose-response inverse effect of infection-related hospital contacts on cancer risk.

Conclusion

Infection-related hospital contacts during the first 24 months of life was associated with a reduced risk of cancer in early-mid adult life. Replication in other populations is warranted and mechanistic studies are needed to understand the biological mechanisms underlying these epidemiological observations.

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生命最初24个月住院感染与成年早期中期癌症风险之间的关系

越来越多的人认识到，早期生活因素在青年期癌症发病率上升中起着重要作用。急性儿童感染可能预防癌症的发展，但证据有限。我们调查了在出生后的前24个月与感染相关的医院接触是否与成年早期中期癌症的风险相关。方法纳入68538例个体(33569例；49.0 %女性)1977-1996年出生，来自哥本哈根学校健康记录登记册。通过个人层面与国家登记处的联系，我们获得了出生至24个月之间与感染相关的医院接触和早发性癌症（诊断为15-45岁）的信息。风险比（HR）和95% %置信区间（CI）使用经母体教育调整的Cox回归进行估计。结果从出生到24个月，14718人（21.5% %）至少有一次与感染相关的医院接触。在随访期间，788人被诊断出患有癌症。与没有与感染相关的医院接触的个体相比，至少有一次接触的个体患成年早期中期癌症的风险较低（HR=0.82, 95 % CI: 0.68-0.98）。我们发现有限的证据表明与感染相关的医院接触对癌症风险有剂量-反应反作用。结论出生后24个月内与感染相关的医院接触与成年中早期癌症风险降低相关。在其他人群中进行复制是必要的，需要进行机制研究，以了解这些流行病学观察结果背后的生物学机制。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Cancer Epidemiology 医学-肿瘤学

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

3.80%

发文量

200

审稿时长

39 days

期刊介绍： Cancer Epidemiology is dedicated to increasing understanding about cancer causes, prevention and control. The scope of the journal embraces all aspects of cancer epidemiology including: • Descriptive epidemiology • Studies of risk factors for disease initiation, development and prognosis • Screening and early detection • Prevention and control • Methodological issues The journal publishes original research articles (full length and short reports), systematic reviews and meta-analyses, editorials, commentaries and letters to the editor commenting on previously published research.