This presentation will present findings from studies based on Danish nationwide registers investigating the link between all treated infections and the risk of mental disorders. The studies were based on the entire Danish population (approximately 5.5million) and had detailed information on infections leading to hospital contacts and infections treated with anti-infective agents in the primary sector. The studies investigated the risk for severe mental disorders, ranging from childhood and adolescence mental disorders, affective disorders, schizophrenia, to suicidal behavior. Mechanisms potentially explaining the findings will be discussed and include direct effects of the infections and inflammatory processes on the brain, confounding aspects due to the observational study design, genetic factors or detrimental effects due to the anti-infective treatment.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Infections are associated with an increased risk of subsequent development of severe mental illness. 
2. These findings may be explained by direct and indirect effects of the infection on the brain, effects of the anti-infective treatment, genetics, or confounding factors due to the observational nature of our studies.