Associate professor and Senior cunsultant in Rheumatology
Inflammatory rheumatological diseases occur in several percent of the population. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common, with a prevalence of 0.5-1%. For spondylitis, which includes psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS), the prevalence is estimated to be around 0.5% for each disease. Today, an increased incidence of co-morbidities such as cardiovascular diseases and lung diseases in patients with rheumatological diseases is well known. How the development of these co-morbidities differs from that in the general population has not been established.
The aim of my further studies is to study the epidemiology behind, pathogenetic factors for and the outcome after these co-morbidities in patients with inflammatory rheumatological diseases. Furthermore, my research includes studies on the treatment of the rheumatological disease and how lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise can affect the well-being of patients with rheumatological diseases. Taken together, these studies can increase the possibility of prevention of co-morbidities and thus reduced suffering and increased quality of life in these patients.