Epidemiology

The Research Unit for Epidemiology develops and delivers teaching and research in human epidemiology. Our research includes epidemiological themes such as diet, lifestyle, reproduction, vaccines, environment, genetics and medication. And we find common ground in the application of epidemiological methods to address health challenges.

We work with a wide set of national and international collaborators at leading research centres, and our vision is to develop into one of the global centres of research excellence in epidemiology by developing a portfolio of research projects that apply state-of-the-art epidemiological methods to resolve societally and academically important research questions.

The research unit’s research covers different epidemiological aims, such as:

descriptive epidemiology of trends in the occurrence of conditions and diseases, their risk factors and complications based on Danish and international register data,
aetiological observational epidemiology examining the contribution of a wide variety of physiological, behavioural, societal and genetic mechanisms to the risk of health outcomes, including diseases and their complications, using both Danish and international cohorts and
data collection, processing and/or analysis of several core Danish cohorts and trials.

Methods

Epidemiological methods focus on the quantitative analysis of occurrence of health outcomes and their determinants at the level of populations. Epidemiological methods include study designs (sampling, data collection and processing, quality control), and statistical analytical approaches combined with subject matter knowledge.

The aim is to chart the distribution of health conditions and to determine causes of population health. Although different groups of researchers within the unit focus on different exposures and different health outcomes, the strength of the research unit lies in a shared focus on applying rigorous epidemiologic principles and methodological approaches and in the group’s ability to define, develop and apply the most appropriate scientific strategy to explore a given research question.

Recent publications

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Zhu, J. L., Obel, C., Basso, O., Henriksen, T. B., Bech, B. H., Hvidtjørn, D. & Olsen, J. (2011). Infertility, infertility treatment and behavioural problems in the offspring. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 25(5), 466-77. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3016.2011.01220.x

Zhu, T., Marschall, H., Hansen, K. E., Horne, A. W., Saraswat, L., Zondervan, K. T., Missmer, S. A., Hummelshoj, L., Bokor, A., Østrup, C. S., Melgaard, A. & Rytter, D. (2025). Consensus on Symptom Selection for Endometriosis Questionnaires: A Modified e-Delphi Study. B J O G, 132(5), 656-662. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.18066

Zheng, J.-S., Sharp, S. J., Imamura, F., Koulman, A., Schulze, M. B., Ye, Z., Griffin, J., Guevara, M., Huerta, J. M., Kröger, J., Sluijs, I., Agudo, A., Barricarte, A., Boeing, H., Colorado-Yohar, S., Dow, C., Dorronsoro, M., Dinesen, P. T., Fagherazzi, G. ... Wareham, N. J. (2017). Association between plasma phospholipid saturated fatty acids and metabolic markers of lipid, hepatic, inflammation and glycaemic pathways in eight European countries: a cross-sectional analysis in the EPIC-InterAct study. B M C Medicine, 15(1), 203. Article 203. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-017-0968-4

Zheng, J.-S., Luan, J., Sofianopoulou, E., Sharp, S. J., Day, F. R., Imamura, F., Gundersen, T. E., Lotta, L. A., Sluijs, I., Stewart, I. D., Shah, R. L., van der Schouw, Y. T., Wheeler, E., Ardanaz, E., Boeing, H., Dorronsoro, M., Dahm, C. C., Dimou, N., El-Fatouhi, D. ... Wareham, N. J. (2020). The association between circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D metabolites and type 2 diabetes in European populations: A meta-analysis and Mendelian randomisation analysis. PLOS Medicine, 17(10), Article e1003394. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003394

Zheng, J.-S., Luan, J., Sofianopoulou, E., Imamura, F., Stewart, I. D., Day, F. R., Pietzner, M., Wheeler, E., Lotta, L. A., Gundersen, T. E., Amiano, P., Ardanaz, E., Chirlaque, M.-D., Fagherazzi, G., Franks, P. W., Kaaks, R., Laouali, N., Mancini, F. R., Nilsson, P. M. ... Wareham, N. J. (2021). Plasma Vitamin C and Type 2 Diabetes: Genome-Wide Association Study and Mendelian Randomization Analysis in European Populations. Diabetes Care, 44(1), 98-106. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc20-1328

Zheng, J.-S., Steur, M., Imamura, F., Freisling, H., Johnson, L., van der Schouw, Y. T., Tong, T. Y. N., Weiderpass, E., Bajracharya, R., Crous-Bou, M., Dahm, C. C., Heath, A. K., Ibsen, D. B., Jannasch, F., Katzke, V., Masala, G., Moreno-Iribas, C., Sacerdote, C., Schulze, M. B. ... Forouhi, N. G. (2024). Dietary intake of plant- and animal-derived protein and incident cardiovascular diseases: the pan-European EPIC-CVD case-cohort study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 119(5), 1164-1174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2024.03.006

Zhang, J., Nyvang, D., Ibsen, D. B., Olsen, A., Tjønneland, A., Overvad, K. & Dahm, C. C. (2021). Adherence to the Danish food-based dietary guidelines and risk of colorectal cancer: a cohort study. British Journal of Cancer, 125(12), 1726-1733. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-021-01556-x

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