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• People with type 1 diabetes have higher infection risks compared to those without. • Associations are slightly stronger in ages < 50 years and non-White ethnicities. • High HbA1c mean level and variability are associated with increasing infection risk. • Improved glycaemic control may reduce infection risk, particularly for more serious infections requiring hospitalisation. • Guidelines for type 1 diabetes should put a greater emphasis on infection risks. People with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have raised infection rates compared to those without, but how these risks vary by age, sex and ethnicity, or by glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), remain uncertain. 33,829 patients with T1D in Clinical Practice Research Datalink on 01/01/2015 were age-sex-ethnicity matched to two non-diabetes patients. Infections were collated from primary care and linked hospitalisation records during 2015–2019, and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were estimated versus non-diabetes. For 26,096 people with T1D, with ≥3 HbA1c measurements in 2012–2014, mean and coefficient of variation were estimated, and compared across percentiles. People with T1D had increased risk for infections presenting in primary care (IRR = 1.81, 95%CI 1.77–1.85) and hospitalisations (IRR = 3.37, 3.21–3.53) compared to non-diabetes, slightly attenuated after further adjustment. Younger ages and non-White ethnicities had greater relative risks, potentially explained by higher HbA1c mean and variability amongst people with T1D within these sub-groups. Both mean HbA1c and greater variability were strongly associated with infection risks, but the greatest associations were at the highest mean levels (hospitalisations IRR = 4.09, 3.64–4.59) for >97 versus ≤53 mmol/mol. Infections are a significant health burden in T1D. Improved glycaemic control may reduce infection risks, while prompter infection treatments may reduce hospital admissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]