Axel C. Carlsson's research

I conduct broad research on diseases in primary care, with projects ranging from early detection of cancer, cognitive testing and machine learning for early identification of dementia, to studies on high blood pressure and cardiovascular risk in the population, post-COVID syndrome, and mental health.

Axel Carl Carlsson

Researcher

E-post: axel.carlsson@ki.se

Team Members

I am the principal supervisor for the following PhD students:

Anders Norrman (hypertension and cardiovascular risk)
Mark Albeek (early detection of lung cancer)
Signe Åhrberg (cognitive testing and detection of dementia)

I also serve as co-supervisor for:

Eliya Abedi (colorectal cancer)
Klas Ytterbrink Nordenskiöld (climate change and health in frail older adults)
Seika Lee (post-COVID)

Additionally, I supervise postdoctoral projects led by:

Johanna Wallensten (mental health and dementia)
Sebastian Lindblom (general practice)

Collaboration

Cancer Research: RCC Stockholm Gotland and Jayanth Raghothama at KTH, as well as Tina Gustavell, Lars E. Eriksson, and Simon Eklund at Karolinska Institutet (KI).
In this research, I have worked with Andreas Rosenblad at Uppsala University, who taught me machine learning methods that I now apply broadly in general practice, together with Ghada Nouairia, Julia Eriksson, and Anna Olofsson at KI.

Frail older adults, diabetes, and emergency department search patterns: Per Wändell at KI, and Toralph Ruge and Torgny Wessman at Lund University.

Multimorbidity and frailty, as well as broad general practice research: Caroline Wachtler and Jan Hasselström at NVS, KI.

Pain, cardiovascular risk, and kidney diseases: Johan Ärnlöv, with whom I have collaborated for many years, mainly within an EU-funded project called SCOPE. I also maintain contact with geriatric researchers in Italy, Austria, Israel, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Health of immigrants in Sweden: Per Wändell at NVS KI, and Jan and Kristina Sundquist. This research aligns well with the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), an international consortium of cohorts from around the world studying differences between countries, where I am a co-author.

Dementia: Sophia Schedin Weiss, Lars Tjernberg, and Linus Jönsson at NVS, KI, as well as Mindmore AB.
I also collaborate with Predrag Petrovic at KI.

Mental health and suicide: Predrag Petrovic and Johan Reutfors, both at KI, and Sverker Sikström at Lund University.

Funding

Einar Belvén Foundation, Region Stockholm, and the Sjöberg Foundation (project on early cancer detection)
Vinnova and the Swedish Research Council (dementia project)
“WASP-HS DDLS call – Research initiation grants for data-driven life sciences and society,” primarily funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (in collaboration with Sverker Sikström at Lund University)

Selected publications

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trends in health conditions associated with alcohol among patients with hypertension in Sweden.
Kisiel MA, Lee S, Hasselström J, Hagströmer M, Nyberg F, Hajiebrahimi M, Carlsson AC
Sci Rep 2025 Oct;15(1):34295

Assessing Associations of Nurse-Managed Hypertension Care on Pharmacotherapy, Lifestyle Counseling, and Prevalence of Comorbid Cardiometabolic Diseases in All Patients With Hypertension That Are Treated in Primary Care in Stockholm, Sweden.
Ivarsson C, Bergqvist M, Wändell P, Lindblom S, Norrman A, Eriksson J, Hasselström J, Sandlund C, Carlsson AC
J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) 2025 Jan;27(1):e14940

Differences between private and public primary health care centers and differences between men and women in antihypertensive care and cardiovascular prevention in all patients with hypertension treated in primary care in Stockholm County, Sweden.
Wändell P, Norrman A, Eriksson J, Ivarsson C, Gudjonsdottir H, Hagströmer M, Lundh L, Hasselström J, Brynedal B, Sandlund C, Carlsson AC
BMC Prim Care 2025 Jan;26(1):20

Machine learning to detect Alzheimer's disease with data on drugs and diagnoses.
Wallensten J, Wachtler C, Bogdanovic N, Olofsson A, Kivipelto M, Jönsson L, Petrovic P, Carlsson AC
J Prev Alzheimers Dis 2025 May;12(5):100115

Nurse-Managed Hypertension Care in Primary Health Care Centers in Region Stockholm and Its Association With Blood Pressure Control and Key Indicators for Contractual Follow-Up.
Ivarsson C, Wändell P, Bergqvist M, Norrman A, Eriksson J, Hasselström J, Lindblom S, Sandlund C, Carlsson AC
J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) 2025 Mar;27(3):e70041

The most common diagnoses in primary care, and changes over time, in the total population of Stockholm, Sweden.
Wändell P, Ljunggren G, Carlsson AC
BMC Prim Care 2025 Aug;26(1):235

The Stockholm early detection of cancer study (STEADY-CAN): rationale, design, data collection, and baseline characteristics for 2.7 million participants.
Nemlander E, Abedi E, Ljungman P, Hasselström J, Carlsson AC, Rosenblad A
Eur J Epidemiol 2025 Jan;40(1):123-136

Using machine learning involving diagnoses and medications as a risk prediction tool for post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) in primary care.
Lee S, Kisiel MA, Lindberg P, Wheelock ÅM, Olofsson A, Eriksson J, Bruchfeld J, Runold M, Wahlström L, Malinovschi A, Janson C, Wachtler C, Carlsson AC
BMC Med 2025 Apr;23(1):251

Differences in psychiatric comorbidity patterns in patients diagnosed with chronic stress-induced exhaustion disorder and depression - A cohort study in the total population of Region Stockholm.
Wallensten J, Ljunggren G, Nager A, Wachtler C, Petrovic P, Carlsson AC
J Affect Disord 2024 Apr;351():765-773

General and abdominal adiposity and hypertension in eight world regions: a pooled analysis of 837 population-based studies with 7·5 million participants.

Lancet 2024 Aug;404(10455):851-863