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Updated: Oct 17, 2025
A Neonatal Imaging Model of Gram-Negative Bacterial Sepsis
Published on: August 12, 2020
Perinatal factors and hospitalisations for severe childhood infections: a population-based cohort study in Sweden
Samuel Videholm1, Urban Kostenniemi2,3, Torbjörn Lind2
1Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden samuel.videholm@umu.se.
Insights
Prematurity and congenital malformations significantly increase the risk of sepsis and bacterial meningitis in young children. Perinatal factors are crucial for assessing infection risk in early childhood.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Severe infections like sepsis and bacterial meningitis pose significant risks to infants.
- Understanding the influence of perinatal factors on these infections is critical for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between various perinatal factors and hospitalizations for sepsis and bacterial meningitis in early childhood.
Main Methods:
- A population-based cohort study utilizing Swedish national registers.
- Inclusion of over 1.4 million children born between 1997 and 2013.
- Negative binomial regression models were employed to analyze associations.
Main Results:
- Extreme prematurity showed a strong association with increased risk for sepsis (aIRR 10.37) and meningitis (aIRR 6.22).
- Congenital malformations were linked to higher risks of sepsis (aIRR 3.89) and meningitis (aIRR 1.69).
- Infants born small/large for gestational age and those exposed to maternal smoking also had increased hospitalization risks for these infections.
Conclusions:
- Perinatal factors, including prematurity and congenital anomalies, are significantly associated with severe childhood infections.
- Clinical guidelines should incorporate perinatal history for accurate infection risk assessment in young children.
Objective:
To examine the association between perinatal factors and hospitalisations for sepsis and bacterial meningitis in early childhood (from 28 days to 2 years of age).
Design:
A population-based cohort study. The Swedish Medical Birth Register was combined with the National Inpatient Register, the Cause of Death Register, the Total Population Register and the Longitudinal integration database for health insurance and labour market studies. Associations between perinatal factors and hospitalisations were examined using negative binomial regression models.
Setting:
Sweden.
Participants:
1 406 547 children born in Sweden between 1997 and 2013.
Main Outcome Measures:
Hospital admissions for sepsis and bacterial meningitis recorded between 28 days and 2 years of life.
Results:
Gestational age was inversely associated with severe infections, that is, extreme prematurity was strongly associated with an increased risk of sepsis, adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) 10.37 (95% CI 6.78 to 15.86) and meningitis aIRR 6.22 (95% CI 2.28 to 16.94). The presence of congenital malformation was associated with sepsis aIRR 3.89 (95% CI 3.17 to 4.77) and meningitis aIRR 1.69 (95% CI 1.09 to 2.62). Moreover, children born small or large for gestational age were more likely to be hospitalised for sepsis and children exposed to maternal smoking were more likely to be hospitalised for meningitis.
Conclusions:
Prematurity and several other perinatal factors were associated with an increased risk of severe infections in young children. Therefore, clinical guidelines for risk assessment of infections in young children should consider perinatal factors.
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