News

In Dagens Nyheter, Hanne Kjöller cites Elin Lindsäter et al.’s scoping review about what we know about exhaustion disorder, in a chronicle about externalizing illness.

“Exhaustion disorder is the single most common sick leave diagnosis in Sweden. In other countries it does not even exist.“

The disorder was introduced into the Swedish version of ICD-10 in 2005, and still exists only in Sweden. The development of the diagnosis has been criticized by members of the Rück research group, mainly because it lacks the scientific basis that usually is required for a diagnosis to take form.

Since the introduction of the diagnosis, the use of it has increased rapidly. It is today almost as prevalent as depression and currently accounts for more long-term sick-leave reimbursement than any other single diagnosis in the country. Ultimately, both patients and tax payers suffer from our lack of knowledge about the condition.

Click here for the scoping review on exhaustion disorder.

News

Hiring: Research assistant

Are you interested in psychiatric research? We are hiring another research assistant to join the Rück research group!

The employment includes supporting the Saving Lives project and Elin Lindsäter‘s projects about stress and exhaustion.

Work tasks include coordinating projects and have contact with researchers and collaboration partners. You will work with following up on research grants, planning meetings and media activities.

You will be part of a stimulating and educational work environment at the Karolinska Institutet, where you will work closely together with dedicated researchers in psychology and psychiatry.

Read more and apply here.

News

In the media this week

Due to TV4’s feature that a large number of calls do not reach the suicide telephone line, Christian comments on the importance of getting the right help and possible ways to deal with suicide. Watch the clip (in Swedish) here.

Jesper took part in a Dagens Nyheter article about the importance of hair for men, in relation to body dysmorphic disorder and the role hair plays in the identity.

News

Characterization of exhaustion disorder

As part of the comprehensive approach towards chronic stress, fatigue and exhaustion disorder (ED), Elin et al. have looked into the qualitative aspects of the condition.

Through an online survey, they interviewed patients diagnosed with ED and healthcare professionals working with these patiens. The aim was to identify outcomes that matter to patients and healthcare professionals.

The study identified various aspects of ED that matter to patiens and clinicians, illustrating the panorama of issues related to the disorder. Hopefully, this is a step to further understand it.

Read the article here.

Illustration of the distribution of categories and subcategories from the qualitative content analysis. 

The research group recently published a review on exhaustion disorder, that indicated that there is limited research on the validity of the diagnosis.

News

Anmälan öppen till studie ORS-studien

Är du rädd att andra tycker att du luktar illa? Leder det till obehag som är så starkt att det hindrar dig i vardagen? I sådana fall kan det vara så att du lider av Olfactory Reference Syndrome (ORS).

Nu startar vi en ny behandlingsstudie av internetförmedlad psykologisk behandling för personer med oro kring att lukta illa. I dagsläget finns ingen tillgänglig psykologisk behandling för ORS. Studien är den första av sitt slag.

Läs mer och anmäl dig här.

English translation: We are now opening the registration for our Olfactory Reference Syndrome (ORS), testing a new internet-delivered treatment for people with preoccupation with worry about smelling bad. Currently, there is no available psychological treatment for ORS, the study is the first of its kind.

News

Volen och Sofia i SVT’s Samlarna

The documentary Samlarna is now up on SVT Play. Samlarna is a film by Linnea Widén about hoarding disorder, portraying people with problematic hoarding behavior. Volen and Sofia are participating in the film, in a task force meeting where different partakers working with hoarding disorder meet and work together.

Hoarding disorder is still a relatively unknown disorder, especially considering that as many as 2,5 % of the population is believed to suffer from it. The film include portraits of people living with this condition. We believe that this documentary play a role in increasing knowledge about the disorder and the patiens struggling with it.

We are currently conducting a study testing a new treatment for patients with hoarding disorder. The new treatment consists of a combination of CBT and home de-cluttering. We compare the treatment with CBT only. Read more about the study here.

The documentary is already up on SVT Play, and broadcasted on SVT1 on Thursday, January 19th.

News

Two grants to Katja

Ekaterina Ivanova has received not one but TWO grants from Swedish Society of Medicine (Svenska Läkaresällskapet), the post doc grant and the project grant.

Both of the grants are for the Bergen 4 Day treatment project, an RCT testing the non-inferiority, speed of recovery, and cost-effectiveness of Bergen 4-Day Treatment (B4DT) for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), compared to gold-standard CBT.

Read more about the Bergen 4 Day treatment-project here.

Congratulations Katja! 🎺🎺🎺

News

Best papers 2022

Happy New Year!

The article Does Size Matter? Genital Self-Image, Genital Size, Pornography Use and Openness Toward Cosmetic Genital Surgery in 3503 Swedish Men and Women has been selected the best surgery paper 2022 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine!

Jesper Enander, Ekaterina Ivanova and Christian Rück from the group have been working on the paper together with Ingvill Baghøien Hosted and Karin Malmqvist.

How honorable!

News

Grant for suicide research

We have received $1,494,898 from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) for the Saving Lives project!

The project aims to improve precision in prediction and prevention of suicide by constructing a national cohort of genetic and environmental data. The ultimate goal is to decrease suicide rates.

Suicide is a tragic event for the individual, the relatives and society. We therefore make efforts to prevent suicide, and a typical way of doing this is to assess suicide risk. Still, studies in psychiatric populations show that current assessments available will classify one out of two suicidal individuals as low risk before an actual death by suicide, while 95% of those classified as high risk will eventually not die by suicide.

Why?

The causes of suicide are complex. Many different factors and life events contribute. To improve prediction, large studies and long follow-up are needed to reach meaningful sample sizes.

Using unique Swedish assets, of genetic and environmental data, and machine learning we have an opportunity a discover environmental and genetic risk factors associated with suicide in order to predict and prevent it.

We thank the AFSP for this grant.

Read more about the Saving lives project here.

News

Besväras du av tvångstankar eller tvångshandlingar?

Vi har just öppnat anmälan till en studie som jämför två olika behandlingsformer för personer med tvångssyndrom.

Läs mer och anmäl dig här: www.ocdprojektet.se

Kognitiv beteendeterapi (KBT) har visat sig vara effektivt för att lindra både tvångstankar och tvångshandlingar när den genomförs under 14 veckor. Karolinska Institutet och Region Stockholm genomför nu en studie som jämför denna typ av KBT med en intensivbehandling som pågår i 4 heldagar.

Mer information

  • Du behöver vara minst 18 år och ha tvångssyndrom (OCD)
  • Behandlingen genomförs på Karolinska sjukhuset i Huddinge eller Solna
  • Deltagandet är gratis

English translation: We have opened the registration for an RCT comparing a new concentrated treatment for OCD to golden standard CBT.