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Sexual quality of life in patients with axial spondyloarthritis

Kari Hansen Berg of the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences at the University of Agder has submitted her thesis entitled «Sexual quality of life in patients with axial spondyloarthritis» and will defend the thesis for the PhD-degree Wednesday 28 September 2022.

The overall aim of the studies was to examine the impact of health status on sexual activity and sexual QOL in male and female patients with axSpA.

Kari Hansen Berg

PhD Candidate

You may follow the disputation online. Link for registration as an online spectator at the bottom of this page.

 

Kari Hansen Berg of the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences at the University of Agder has submitted her thesis entitled «Sexual quality of life in patients with axial spondyloarthritis» and will defend the thesis for the PhD-degree Wednesday 28 September 2022.

She has followed the PhD programme at the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences.

Summary of the thesis by Kari Hansen Berg:

Sexual quality of life in patients with axial spondyloarthritis

Research on the impact of health status on sexual activity and sexual quality of life (QOL) in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is scarce.

The overall aim of the studies was to examine the impact of health status on sexual activity and sexual QOL in male and female patients with axSpA.

Collection of data 

Three hundred and seventy-nine consecutive patients with axSpA, aged 18–81 years, who visited the outpatient rheumatology clinics at two Norwegian hospitals were included.

Data on demographic factors, disease, treatment and lifestyle variables were collected by doctors and nurses from questionnaires, laboratory test results, direct interviews, and physical examinations, at the baseline and after 5 years.

At the follow-up, 245 patients participated. A broad-spectrum data collection method was used to obtain data for demographics, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS), and disease activity/damage.

Three articles

Article 1: Exploring the relationship between demographic and disease-related variables and perceived effect of health status on sexual activity in patients with axial spondyloarthritis: associations found only with non-disease variables.

Article 2: Sexual Quality of Life in Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis in the Biologic Treatment Era.

Article 3: Increased proportion of comorbidities but no deterioration of sexual QOL during a 5-year follow-up in patients with axSpA in the biologic treatment era.

Findings

This cohort of outpatient patients with axSpA reported a low impact of health status on sexual activity and sexual QOL.

Sexual QOL did not seem to worsen over time and remained stable through the 5-year follow-up despite an increase in the number of comorbidities.

Effective disease control and changes in healthy lifestyle habits may help to improve the outcomes for these patients.

Disputation facts:

The trial lecture and the public defence will take place in Auditorium C2 040, Campus Grimstad and online via the Zoom conferencing app - registration link below.

Professor Stephen Seiler, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, will chair the disputation.

The trial lecture Wednesday 28 September at 10:15 hours

Public defence Wednesday 28 September at 12:30 hours

 

Given topic for trial lecture«Sexual quality of life – importance for the individual and the society.» Base the presentation on current evidence.

Thesis Title«Sexual quality of life in patients with axial spondyloarthritis»

Search for the thesis in AURA - Agder University Research Archive, a digital archive of scientific papers, theses and dissertations from the academic staff and students at the University of Agder.

The thesis is available here:

 

The CandidateKari Hansen Berg (1959, Arendal, grown up in Kristiansand) Nurse from the Red Cross nursing school (Røde Kors sykepleierskole) in Oslo/Akershus (1984), studied 1 og 2 department of nursing science at the University in Oslo. Masters degree from Gjøvik University College (HiG), now NTNU-Gjøvik. From 1995 she have been working  with rheumatology at Revmatismesykehuset (the Rheumatology Hospital) in Lillehammer and the Rheumatology policlinic (Revmatologisk poliklinikk) at Sørlandet Hospital HF. From 2015 – 2019 she was Head of Department at  the Department of Health and Nursing Science at UiA. Present position: Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychosocial Health at UiA.

Opponents:

First opponent: Professor Kristina Areskoug-Josefsson, OsloMet - Storbyuniversitetet

Second opponent: Associate Professor Palle Bager, Aarhus Universitetshospital/Aarhus Universitet, Danmark

Associate Professor Silje Halvorsen Sveaas, Department of Nutrition and Public Health, University of Agder, is appointed as the administrator for the assessment committee.

Supervisors in the doctoral work were Leader of the Department of Rheumatology, Sørlandet Hospital HF, Kristiansand and Professor (affiliated) NTNU (PhD) Glenn Haugeberg, (main supervisor), Professor Gudrun Elin Rohde, UiA, Professor Emerit Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad, UiA and Professor Emerita Monika Østensen, Department of Rheumatology, Sørlandet Hospital HF, Kristiansand (co-supervisors)

What to do as an online audience member:

The disputation is open to the public, but to follow the trial lecture and the public defence digitally, transmitted via the Zoom conferencing app, you have to register as an audience member on this link:

https://uiano.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Mocu6rqDgjHdx8yTvCv1TetC1AjsIYDZUZ

A Zoom-link will be returned to you. (Here are introductions for how to use Zoom: support.zoom.us if you cannot join by clicking on the link.)

We ask online audience members to join the virtual trial lecture at 10:05 at the earliest and the public defense at 12:20 at the earliest. After these times, you can leave and rejoin the meeting at any time. Further, we ask online audience members to turn off their microphone and camera and keep them turned off throughout the event. You do this at the bottom left of the image when in Zoom. We recommend you use ‘Speaker view’. You select that at the top right corner of the video window when in Zoom.

Opponent ex auditorio:

The chair invites members of the public to pose questions ex auditorio in the introduction to the public defense. Deadline is during the break between the two opponents. The person asking questions should have read the thesis. For online audience the Contact Persons e-mail are available in the chat function during the Public Defense, and questions ex auditorio can be submitted to Eli Margareth Andås on e-mail eli.andas@uia.no.