The population-level association between congenital toxoplasmosis, syphilis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, or herpes simplex (TORCH) infections and later neurodevelopmental outcomes has not been well quantified. To address this gap, a Swedish population-based study examined whether congenital TORCH infections were associated with neurodevelopmental and psychiatric outcomes. The study included 3,666,002 individuals, including 975 with congenital TORCH infections. Over a median follow-up of 18.7 years, congenital TORCH infections were associated with higher risks of intellectual disability (ID; HR, 7.22) and autism (HR, 3.10).

Similar or greater associations were observed in sibling comparisons, with HRs of 11.28 for ID and 3.19 for autism. The risk of ID increased with greater severity, with HRs ranging from 3.01 for mild ID to 23.51 for severe-to-profound ID. The association with autism was…