Rücklab – Psychiatry research at Karolinska Institutet

Listen to a Swedish Radio interview with Christian ahead of the release of his new book: A life worth living – Why suicide became man’s companion.

The interview covers perspectives on suicide in different times and cultures, as well as questions about which suicides are acceptable and which are not.

Here is a link to the interview (in Swedish).

Here is a link to Bokus where you can buy the book.

In the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, Christian Rück debates Sweden’s zero vision for suicide. He argues that the zero vision creates the false notion that all suicides are preventable and that it places additional blame on families and health professionals. This risks making efforts to reduce cases more difficult.

Read the article (in Swedish) here.

Manne Sjöstrand is the research team’s expert on medical ethics. In this paper from 2023, he develops a critical position on Vision Zero as a way to reduce suicide.

We have now reached the last day of our Christmas calendar. From all of us to all of you…🎄🎁

We would like to take this opportunity to show our appreciation and extend a heartfelt thank you to our grantors for making the various research projects in our group possible.

Thank you,

• Vetenskapsrådet
• Forte – Forskningsrådet för hälsa, arbetsliv och välfärd
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
• Stiftelsen Söderström Königska Sjukhemmet
• Stiftelsen Professor Bror Gadelius Minnesfond
• Avtal om Läkarutbildning och Forskning (Alf)
• CIMED – Centrum för innovativ medicin

Researchers from our team including Oskar Flygare, John Wallert, Julia Boberg, and Christian Rück, along with other contributors, carried out a significant Nationwide Registry study.

They explored two key questions: Do depression and anxiety affect the risk of reinfarction and mortality after a myocardial infarction (MI)? And does the severity of these psychiatric symptoms have an impact on this risk?

What did they find?
Both a previous diagnosis and present self-reported symptoms of anxiety or depression are associated with an increased risk of death and recurrent cardiovascular events in adults with first-time MI. 

This highlights the importance of assessing both psychiatric history and self-reported symptoms for these patients. 

Read the full article here

3 things about dermatillomania that too few people know.

1. Dermatillomania, which is skin picking that causes damage and negatively impacts one’s life, remains unknown to many, despite affecting about 200,000 Swedes. It is often only identified in adulthood.

2. It is common that compulsive skin picking starts in adolescence with acne or another skin condition and often continues even after healing. Many people hide their wounds and feel ashamed, which affects their social life. 
   
3. Skin picking usually occurs on the face but also on other parts of the body. It provides temporary relief or pleasure, making it difficult to stop despite negative consequences.

Caring for a small child is stressful for most people. One in five new parents struggle with distressing thoughts of intentionally harming their child, but for some the unwanted intrusive thoughts become distressing and reducing the quality of life.

A recent study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet explored the initial efficacy, feasibility and acceptability of a new 8-week self-guided online cognitive intervention for parents experiencing these troubling thoughts.

The results revealed significant reductions in distress and impairment related to these thoughts post-intervention, and these improvements were sustained at the 1-month follow-up. The results also showed that negative appraisals have a mediating role.

You can read the full article here.

We asked PhD student Sofia Jägholm about three myths about Hoarding Disorder – a condition characterized by an ongoing difficulty throwing away or parting with possessions because you believe that you need to save them.

Myth 1: Prevalence of Hoarding Disorder
Many people think it’s very rare (but point prevalence seems to be around 2.5%)

Myth 2: Misconceptions About Collections: Many people think that people with hoarding disorder only collect junk, which is not true at all. They collect many different types of things, such as clothes, tools, magazines, etc. 

Myth 3: Treatment Willingness in Hoarding Disorder: Many people think that people with hoarding disorder are not interested in treatment, which is also not true.

Elin Lindsäter is a familiar face in Swedish media. Among TV appearances and news articles, she has also been a guest on numerous podcasts, discussing a wide array of topics including internet therapy, CBT, stress, extreme fatigue, and post-Covid. Haven’t had the chance to listen yet? No problem! Discover some of her insightful contributions below. 🎧✨

• Rekordmånga sjukskrivna för stress. Listen here: Studio Ett
  
• KBT kan hjälpa mot extrem trötthet vid postcovid. Listen here: Sveriges Radio
  
• Så läker du en hjärna som stressats till utmattning. Listen here: I hjärnan på Louise Epstein
  
• Utmattningssyndrom, forskning, varningssignaler och några vanliga myter. Listen here: Hälsa för Livet
  
• Utmattningssyndrom: Vad vet vi idag? Listen here: Medicinvetarna
  
• Internetbehandling – är det bra eller? Listen here: Psykologisk Forskning

MULTI-PSYCH is a unique cohort of 2668 patients with anxiety and depression who have been treated with internet-delivered CBT. It contains clinical, genetic and nationwide registry data.

All patients have been blood sampled and genotyped. Clinical and genetic data has been linked to several Swedish registers containing a wide range of variables from patient birth up to 10 years after the end of ICBT.

These variables include:

• Perinatal complications
• School grades
• Psychiatric and somatic comorbidity
• Dispensed medications
• Medical interventions and diagnoses
• Health care and social benefits
• Demographics
• Income

The aim of the project is to improve risk stratification, outcome prediction, and secondary preventive interventions.

Read more about the cohort here.