Tag: Elin Lindsäter

News

Big grant for research on exhaustion and fatigue

Great news for patients suffering from – and clinicians dealing with – fatigue and exhaustion: Elin Lindsäter has received a 5 million SEK grant from Forte for her project on new methods for assessment and treatment in primary care for fatigue as a transdiagnostic symptom dimension.

Elin and her team have been approaching the issue of fatigue and exhaustion disorder (ED, svenska: utmattningssyndrom) for several years. In a qualitative study aimed at broadening the understanding of the symptoms of the condition, they found that fatigue is the core symptom of ED. Fatigue is also a central symptom in other conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and post COVID-19. Looking at fatigue as a transdiagnostic symptom instead of, for example, the specifically Swedish diagnosis of ED enables treatment of other conditions where patients experience fatigue. Moreover, researchers can work cumulatively from the international fatigue research instead of the limited diagnosis-specific field of ED.

Congratulation Elin et al.! This research will benefit many patients suffering from disabling fatigue.

Elin Lindsäter. Photo: Micke Sandström

Click here to read more about Elin and her team’s research on fatigue, chronic stress and exhaustion.

News

Elin Lindsäter on fatigue as a transdiagnostic symptom dimension

There are many ways in which Elin Lindsäter’s research is relevant right now.

Last week, Elin and Dutch professor Hans Knoop discussed the current state of knowledge about fatigue as a transdiagnostic symptom dimension (in ME, CFS, post-COVID and multiple sclerosis) and the Swedish diagnosis of fatigue syndrome, in a seminar at KI.

“Exhaustion disorder is one of the most common and costly mental disorders in Sweden, responsible for more long-term sickness absence than any other psychiatric or somatic disorder in the country. However, evidence for the validity of the diagnosis is limited and there are no evidence-based treatments. Recent research findings indicate that fatigue, the core symptom of exhaustion disorder, might better be conceptualized as a transdiagnostic symptom dimension rather than a disorder-specific pathophysiology. Fatigue severity across patient groups is primarily explained by transdiagnostic factors and the same moderators and mediators of treatment effect have been found across diagnostic samples.“

The moderator of the seminar was Christian Rück.

This Sunday, Elin also talked about exhaustion in the podcast “I hjärnan på Louise Epstein”. Click here to listen at sverigesradio.se.

News

Elin in a podcast on Exhaustion disorder

Earlier this summer, Elin was a guest on the Hälsa för Livet podcast. She talked about Exhaustion disorder (Utmattningssyndrom in Swedish): the current state of research, myths and treatment.

Elin Lindsäter is a psychologist and PhD. Her research focuses on chronic stress, exhaustion and fatigue and on developing new evidence-based treatments for these conditions.

You can listen to the podcast here (in Swedish).

Read more about Elin’s project here.

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

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

Elin Lindsäter i podden Medicinvetarna

Elin Lindsäter medverkar i senaste avsnittet av Karolinska Institutets podcast Medicinvetarna på tema Utmattningssyndrom: Vad vet vi idag?

Podcasten handlar om utmattningssyndrom, en diagnos som har fortsatt att öka. Elin talar om dess utmaningar, dels när det kommer till den diagnostiska gränssättningen mellan utmattning och depression, och dels att det saknas vetenskapligt underlag för att rekommendera olika behandlingar.

– De här patienterna lider och behöver hjälp. Men idag saknas underlaget för att veta hur vi bäst kan hjälpa dem, säger Elin Lindsäter.

Avsnittet hittar du i din podd-app eller genom att klicka här.

Photo: Micke Sandström

English translation: Elin Lindsäter talks about the Swedish diagnosis utmattningssyndrom (exhaustion disorder) and its challenges in diagnostics and treatment, in the latest episode of Karolinska Institutets podcast Medicinvetarna (in Swedish).

News

Elin Lindsäter receives grant for primary care research

Elin Lindsäter recently received a two-year grant, “clinical postdoc in primary care”!  🎊

The grant is a part of a larger fund announcement within primary care. The SLSO Research, Development and Education commettee (SLSO’s FoUU-kommitté) describes the investment as an effort to strengthen and renew the clinically oriented medical research that improves and develops healthcare, with a focus on the role of primary care in the healthcare system.

Elin Lindsäter is a lic. Psychologist and PhD at Karolinska Institutet. She works at Gustavsberg primary care center where she, along with her clinical research, works with education and implementation of evidence-based treatments for conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders and stress-related disorders. 

News

Om utmattningssyndrom i senaste Filter

I senaste numret av magasinet Filter granskas framtagningen av diagnosen utmattningssyndrom. Artikeln ”Brännmärkta  – Diagnosen utmattningssyndrom har främst gynnat en grupp i samhället: vårdbolagen.” tar upp den för Sverige unika diagnosen utmattningssyndrom, dess historia och kontrovers. Artikeln kritiserar diagnosens tillblivelse, som skedde utan det vetenskapliga underlag som brukar krävas för nya diagnoser, och även hur den spretiga behandlingen av utmattningssyndrom har blivit en kostsam historia som dragit in stora pengar till vårdbolagen.

Intervjuade i artikeln är bland andra Elin Lindsäter, som pratar om sin forskning på behandling av utmattningssyndrom, och Christian Rück, som kommenterar kritiken mot diagnosen utifrån sin bok Olyckliga i Paradiset (2020). De berättar även om sitt nya forskningsnätverk relaterat till stress och utmattning, samt den nyligen genomförda systematiska litteraturöversikten av samtliga vetenskapliga artiklar om utmattningssyndrom. 

English translation: Elin Lindsäter and Christian Rück are interviewed in the latest edition of Swedish magazine Filter, commenting on the critics of the formation of the Swedish diagnosis “exhaustion disorder”, a Swedish diagnosis called “utmattningssyndrom” that corresponds to clinical burnout.

News

Elin Lindsäter i Stressforskningspodden

Elin Lindsäter medverkar i senaste avsnittet av Stressforskningspodden där hon pratar om psykologisk behandling av stressrelaterade sjukdomar. Deltar gör även Margot Hinzdahl, som fått behandling i en av Elin studier, och filmskaparen Ruben Östlund som pratar om hur psykologisk behandling gestaltas på film. Lyssna här eller i din podd-app.

Elin är psykolog och medicine doktor i forskningsgruppen och arbetar på Gustavsbergs vårdcentral. Hennes forskningsintresse rör framförallt de stressrelaterade sjukdomarna anpassningsstörning och utmattningssyndrom, för vilka det vetenskapliga underlaget för behandlingsrekommendationer fortfarande är bristfälligt och det saknas evidensbaserade behandlingar.

Stressforskningspodden ges ut från Stressforskningsinstitutet vid Stockholms universitet.

English translation: Elin Lindsäter, psychologist and PhD, visits the podcast Stressforskningspodden and talks about psychological treatment for stress-related disorders.