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Updated: May 2, 2026

Modeling Encephalopathy of Prematurity Using Prenatal Hypoxia-ischemia with Intra-amniotic Lipopolysaccharide in Rats
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Modeling Encephalopathy of Prematurity Using Prenatal Hypoxia-ischemia with Intra-amniotic Lipopolysaccharide in Rats

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Early-onset neonatal infection and cognitive impairment: a nationwide cohort study

Mads Andersen1,2, Gunvor Bak Rohde3,2, Stine Yde Nielsen4,5

  • 1Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark mads.andersen@clin.au.dk.

Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition
|February 24, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Early-onset neonatal infections in near-term to term infants significantly increase the risk of long-term cognitive impairments. This includes higher rates of intellectual disability and special educational needs, highlighting the importance of infection prevention.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal research
  • Pediatric neurology
  • Infectious disease epidemiology

Background:

  • Neonatal infections pose a significant threat to infant health.
  • Long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes following neonatal infections require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between early-onset neonatal infection and subsequent cognitive impairments.
  • To assess the risks of intellectual disability and special educational needs in affected children.

Main Methods:

  • A nationwide register-based cohort study included near-term to term infants born between 1997-2013.
  • Early-onset infection was defined as invasive bacterial infection within the first week of life.
  • Outcomes included intellectual disability and special educational needs diagnoses, analyzed using adjusted hazard ratios and incidence rate ratios.

Main Results:

  • Early-onset sepsis was linked to increased risks of intellectual disability (aHR: 2.24) and special educational needs (aHR: 1.49).
  • Early-onset meningitis showed substantially higher risks for intellectual disability (IRR: 7.75) and special educational needs (aHR: 2.95).
  • Findings were consistent across sibling-matched and culture-positive infection subgroup analyses.

Conclusions:

  • Early-onset neonatal infections in near-term to term infants are associated with a greater risk of long-term cognitive impairment.
  • This includes increased likelihoods of intellectual disability and the need for special educational support.
  • These findings underscore the critical impact of early infections on neurodevelopmental trajectories.
Abstract

Keywords:
Child DevelopmentEpidemiologyNeonatologyNeurologySepsis

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