Peter M. Socha
I am an epidemiologist and Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Center for Register-based Research at Aarhus University. My work aims to inform clinical decision-making around interventions to improve reproductive health. I have a PhD in Epidemiology from McGill University.
Email: [email protected]
Addressing knowledge gaps on the benefits and harms of antenatal corticosteroids
My primary research focus during graduate school was to study the effects of antenatal corticosteroids, drugs aimed at improving neonatal outcomes among fetuses that are likely to be born preterm.
We started with a review of non-randomized studies on the effects of antenatal corticosteroids in twins (Obstet. Gynecol. 2022 140(1):20-30), finding evidence supporting benefits, but with risks of unmeasured and residual confounding. Using a regression discontinuity design to better control for confounding, we found that antenatal corticosteroids improved neonatal respiratory outcomes in twins (BJOG 2024 131(8):1064-1071).
Partway through, I co-authored a Technical Update to the Canadian guidelines for antenatal corticosteroid use, recommending that administration in the late-preterm period be considered after weighting the absolute benefits and risks (JOGC 2022 45(6):445-457). We also published a piece highlighting two instances where studies concluded "no difference" in the effects of antenatal corticosteroids, but considered only the relative effect sizes, and the absolute benefits were greater at earlier gestational ages and among planned caesarean deliveries (ANZJOG 2023 63(3):469-472).
Our last two contributions were towards examining the effect of antenatal corticosteroids on cerebral palsy. First, since cerebral palsy is difficult to identify in administrative health data, we aimed to reduce the risk of bias from misclassification. We found that identification of cerebral palsy cases could be improved, but residual misclassification remained (Ann. Epidemiol. 2026 114:26-31). Using the same regression discontinuity design as above, and correcting for likely levels of misclassification, we were not able to convincingly demonstrate or rule out effects of antenatal corticosteroids on cerebral palsy (J. Pediatr. 2026 290:114960).
Interventions to improve reproductive health
Please check back to find information on current and upcoming projects...
Improving epidemiology and public health content on Wikipedia
I will be co-chairing (with Dr. Anna Palmer) an online symposium on Wikipedia content in epidemiology at the Society for Epidemiologic Research Mid-Year Meeting, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, from 12:00-13:00 Eastern Time (GMT -5).
Please reach out if you are interested in getting involved in collective efforts to improve Wikipedia content in epidemiology, public health, and medicine.