Burden and Consequences of Chronic Urticaria - A nationwide registry study

PhD defence by Jennifer Astrup Sørensen

Assessment Committee

Associate professor Jesper Vraamark Elberling, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen (Chairperson)
Associate professor Morten Junker Christensen, Department of Dermatology and Allergy Centre, Odense Research Center for Anaphylaxis (ORCA), Odense University Hospital, 5000 Odense C, Denmark
Associate professor Dagmar Simon, Department of Dermatology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern

Supervisors

Clinical Professor Simon Francis Thomsen
MD, PhD Zarqa Ali
Associate Professor Christian Vestergaard

Department

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Graduate Programme

Airways, Anesthesiology and Skin

Place

Building: Bygning 12 - Fælleshuset Bispebjerg Hospital, Room: Stærekassen, Nielsine Nielsensvej 12, 2400 København NV

Email address to gain access to the thesis: Jennifer.astrup.soerensen@regionh.dk.
You will either receive a copy of the thesis or be informed where you can read a physical copy.
Recipients of copies of the thesis are not allowed to share or distribute it due to copyright compliance.

Short description of the thesis

Chronic urticaria is a skin disease that causes recurring itchy hives and swelling for weeks, months or even years, and affects more than one in a hundred people at some point in life. Using Danish nationwide registries, this thesis followed thousands of patients before and after their first visit to a hospital specialist. Patients with chronic urticaria used the health care system far more than people without the disease, often waited years before referral, and frequently received treatments other than those recommended in international guidelines. Patients also had a higher risk of self-harm. The findings highlight the need for earlier referral, greater awareness in general practice, and attention to patients’ mental health.