Hanna Sandelowsky's research
My research interest is primarily focused on asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in primary care.
Research focus
As a general practitioner, I have a broad interest, which is reflected in a wide-ranging research approach to the subject. Although asthma and COPD are the starting points for my studies, the most important findings are related to gaining new knowledge about these diseases in large populations—i.e., patients in the primary care context.
Several epidemiological, observational cohort studies have mapped associations between clinical characteristics and disease phenomena and progression, how multimorbidity and healthcare organizational factors affect disease outcomes in asthma and COPD, the importance of early diagnosis, and what characterizes patients in the early stages of asthma and COPD. I have also conducted qualitative studies on general practitioners’ work with patients with COPD, as well as studies with a medical education focus on physicians’ continuing education in COPD.
Since 2020, I have been the principal investigator and main supervisor of a PhD student in the Stockholm COPD Inflammation Cohort (SCOPIC) study. This study investigates primary care patients with COPD and examines the relationships between clinical data, blood-borne biomarkers, and patients’ subjective needs over time. SCOPIC is conducted in collaboration between general practitioners, district nurses, pulmonologists, and immunologists, and thus involves several departments and areas of expertise at Karolinska Institutet.
The second major project I am involved in as a researcher and research supervisor is the PRAXIS study, a large collaborative project (seven regions, three universities) focused on epidemiological research in asthma and COPD in primary care.
Additionally, I contribute as an expert in several smaller research projects in Sweden, including the MOTIVATE study on patient-related factors influencing asthma control; a study on the transition of adolescents with asthma to adult care; and internationally, for example through the International Primary Care Respiratory Group.
Contact
Collaborators and researchers
SCOPIC:
Lena Palmberg, professor; Anders Lindén professor; Kjell Larsson, professor; Nikolaos Pournaras, PhD - Karolinska Institutet (KI), Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM); Scott Montgomery, professor – KI, Department of Medicine Solna, Clinical Epidemiology; Ingvar Krakau, associate professor; Lena Lundh, PhD; Moun Musaffa, PhD student – KI, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care; Georgios Stratelis, PhD – Uppsala University; Madeleine Jönsson and Sara Nilsson – District Nurses and Research Coordinators.
PRAXIS:
Christer Janson, professor; Björn Ställberg, associate professor; Karin Lisspers, Associate Professor; Marta Kiesiel, Associate Professor – Uppsala University (UU); Josefin Sundh, Associate Professor; Mikael Hasselgren, MD; Gabriella Eliasson, PhD; Maaike Giezemann, PhD – Örebro University (ÖU); Scott Montgomery, professor – KI, Department of Medicine Solna, Clinical Epidemiology. PhD students: Therese Öfverholm – KI (main supervision); Lovisa Järnberg – KI; Carolina Smith, Åsa Athlin, Jenny Höglund – ÖU; Agnes Andreason, Caroline Alroth Pind – UU.
MOTIVATE:
Collaboration with several colleagues at the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association and AstraZeneca.
Transition from Pediatric to Adult Care in Asthma:
Collaboration with Inger Kull, Professor – KI/SÖS (Sachsska Children’s Hospital); Maria Ödling, PhD – KI, SÖS.
Funding
My research time is funded through external research grants. SCOPIC is currently funded by Region Stockholm, the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, the national patient organization Riksförbundet Hjärtlung, and the Swedish Society of Medicine, with no current commercial funding. PRAXIS has multiple funders, primarily regional research grants, and no commercial funding.
Selected publications
The prevalence of undiagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a primary care population with respiratory tract infections - a case finding study.
Sandelowsky H, Ställberg B, Nager A, Hasselström J
BMC Fam Pract 2011 Nov;12():122
Time pressured deprioritization of COPD in primary care: a qualitative study.
Sandelowsky H, Hylander I, Krakau I, Modin S, Ställberg B, Nager A
Scand J Prim Health Care 2016 ;34(1):55-65
Effectiveness of traditional lectures and case methods in Swedish general practitioners' continuing medical education about COPD: a cluster randomised controlled trial.
Sandelowsky H, Krakau I, Modin S, Ställberg B, Johansson SE, Nager A
BMJ Open 2018 Aug;8(8):e021982
Data-driven questionnaire-based cluster analysis of asthma in Swedish adults.
Kisiel MA, Zhou X, Sundh J, Ställberg B, Lisspers K, Malinovschi A, Sandelowsky H, Montgomery S, Nager A, Janson C
NPJ Prim Care Respir Med 2020 Apr;30(1):14
Annual and Post-Exacerbation Follow-Up of Asthma Patients in Clinical Practice - A Large Population-Based Study in Sweden.
Sandelowsky H, Ställberg B, Wiklund F, Telg G, de Fine Licht S, Janson C
J Asthma Allergy 2022 ;15():475-486
Lack of COPD-Related Follow-Up Visits and Pharmacological Treatment in Swedish Primary and Secondary Care.
Sandelowsky H, Janson C, Wiklund F, Telg G, de Fine Licht S, Ställberg B
Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis 2022 ;17():1769-1780
Comorbid Heart Disease in Patients with COPD is Associated with Increased Hospitalization and Mortality - A 15-Year Follow-Up.
Giezeman M, Sundh J, Athlin Å, Lisspers K, Ställberg B, Janson C, Montgomery S, Kisiel MA, Nager A, Sandelowsky H, Hasselgren M
Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis 2023 ;18():11-21
High use of short-acting β2-agonists in COPD is associated with an increased risk of exacerbations and mortality.
Janson C, Wiklund F, Telg G, Stratelis G, Sandelowsky H
ERJ Open Res 2023 May;9(3):
The Increased Burden of Morbidity Over the Life-Course Among Patients with COPD: A Register-Based Cohort Study in Sweden.
Smith C, Hiyoshi A, Hasselgren M, Sandelowsky H, Ställberg B, Montgomery S
Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis 2024 ;19():1375-1389
The Burden of COPD with Type 2 Inflammation in North-West Continental Europe.
Sandelowsky H, Løkke A, Kocks JWH, Grøttum HS, Bakke PS, Vasankari T
Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis 2025 ;20():2767-2785