Approved research

Impact of genetic and environmental factors on incidence and severity of bacterial infections

Lay summary

Severe sepsis is associated with high mortality rates and is a major cause of death in intensive care units worldwide. Although prompt appropriate antibiotic therapy is crucial, the outcome is also affected by other factors that might be targets for supportive treatment. We aim to determine the impact of genetic variation as well as environmental factors on the risk for acquiring common bacterial infections and progression to severe illnesses, sepsis and death. This will be achieved by linking the inter-individual genetic variation and phenome-wide characteristics with registered outpatient and inpatient diagnoses of participants of the UK Biobank cohort. The project will contribute to a better understanding of associations between phenotypic and genotypic risk factors for bacterial infections and progession to severe illnesses. This knowledge can serve as a platform for improving treatment strategies and identifying targets for future drug development in the prevention and supportive therapy for infected patients. The planned studies meet the purposes of UK Biobank to improve the prevention and treatment of illnesses. We will perform association analyses to assess environmental and genetic risk factors for acquisition of bacterial infections and progression to severe illnesses. The whole range of genetic and phenome-wide information available in the UK Biobank, as well as recorded health care contacts and diagnosed medical conditions will be considered in the analyses. Full cohort.