Research at Section of Epidemiology

Section of Epidemiology contributes to the development of the field of theoretical epidemiology, with a specific focus on causal inference, complexity and life course epidemiology.

Section of Epidemiology contributes to the development of the field of theoretical epidemiology, with a specific focus on causal inference, complexity and life course epidemiology. The dynamic interplay between genes, environment and health across the life course and across generations are objects of research in the section.

We aim to exploit and enrich the existing population data and we benefit from the unique ability to link registers in Denmark. Our research is interdisciplinary and we strive to incorporate the knowledge and insights from other disciplines into our research. We also aim to explore the possibilities of innovative technologies to collect and incorporate ‘big data’ into epidemiological thinking.

Our research is organized in five groups/themes:

Perinatal, Obstetric and Pediatric Epidemiology (PI: Professor Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen): Research on health effects of early exposures in a life-course perspective.

Microchimerism epidemiology (PI: Associate Professor Mads Kamper-Jørgensen): Research on foreign cells and their role in women’s and children’s health, based on biological samples.

Complexity and Big Data in Epidemiology (PI: Professor Naja Hulvej Rod): Research on the complex social and biological mechanisms determining health and disease based on high-resolution data.  

Healthy Ageing (PI: Rudi Westendorp): Research on ageing mechanisms and risk factors for functional decline among older people.

Obesity Epidemiology (PI: Thorkild IA Sørensen): Research on theory and epidemiology of obesity, its genetic and environmental causes, metabolic correlates, and psychosocial and health consequences.

Cohort studies or databases connected to the Section of Epidemiology:

DanCHASE
Danish Conscription Database
Danish Life Course Cohort Study (DANLIFE)
Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC)
Metropolit cohort (in Danish only)
Well-being in Hospital Employee cohort (WHALE)