The defense takes place

Tuesday October 24th, 2023. Time: 13.00
At the department of Clinical Medicine
Place room 2.1.042, Aalborg University Copenhagen

The defense can also be followed online on Teams:
Click here to join the defense

After the defense there will be held a reception. All are welcome.

 

Supervisors

Main supervisor:
Associate Professor Kristine Højgaard Allin, MD, PhD
PREDICT, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg UniversityCo-supervisor:
Professor Tine Jess, MD, DMSci
PREDICT, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University

Assessment Committee

Clinical Professor Kirsten Fonager (Chair)
Aalborg University, Denmark
Associate Professor Laura Targownik
University of Toronto, Canada
Clinical Associate Professor Ebbe Langholz
University of Copenhagen, Denmark

 

About the PhD thesis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has long been associated with depression
and anxiety and more recently also with bipolar disorder. Evidence suggests
that the psychiatric comorbidities can exacerbate the IBD disease course in
addition to deteriorate the patients’ quality of life. However, the current
knowledge is fragmented, and it is unclear to which extent psychiatric diseases affect patients with IBD, and how the diseases interact and affect each other.

The aims of the three studies comprised in this thesis were to create a comprehensive overview of the epidemiology, mechanisms, and treatment impact on the co-occurrence of IBD with depression and anxiety; to understand the temporal relationship between IBD, depression and anxiety; and to investigate the longitudinal burden of depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder in patients with IBD.

The narrative review and the systematic review clearly showed that depression and anxiety are frequent and clinically important comorbidities to IBD. The association between the diseases appears to be bidirectional, and there are multiple biological mechanisms that contribute to explaining how the diseases interact. It is still unclear how treatment can impact the co-occurrence of the diseases. The cohort study of more than 22,000 Danish patients with IBD showed a 40% higher risk of depression and anxiety compared with the background population in the years prior to IBD diagnosis, and a 30% increased risk of anxiety and 50% increased risk of depression following IBD diagnosis. We found no clear association to bipolar disorder.

Psychiatric comorbidities, particularly depression and anxiety, constitute a
significant burden in the lives of patients with IBD and should be managed
as part of a holistic approach to care for these patients. Future research
should focus on furthering our understanding of risk factors, connecting
mechanisms and treatment.

 

Contact information

You can contact Dr. Tania Hviid Bisgaard if you have any questions about the defense by clicking here on her e-mail.

Tania Hviid Bisgaard
E-mail: taniahb@dcm.aau.dk
Aalborg University
Department of Clinical Medicine
9000 Aalborg