Gunhild Tidemann Okholm

• Presentation
• Research outputs
• Activities
• Keywords
• Most downloaded

Primary research fields

I combine public health, psychology, and epidemiology to investigate the relation between psychological characteristics and health. My research explores how psychological characteristics influence health and vice versa, with a main focus on intelligence as a psychological predictor of somatic and psychiatric diseases. In the coming years, my vision is to redirect my focus towards the influence of health and treatment on cognitive decline and cognitive development. I thus plan to identify key psychosocial, pharmacological and disease-related predictors of cognitive outcomes. I conduct research on a high international level within the field of medical psychology by combining my background in public health with psychology and epidemiology. I have extensive experience with large register-based studies and the application of advanced epidemiological methods and sibling comparison designs. Additionally, I have solid experience with data collection and data management.

Current research

I am currently the Co-PI of the ‘Diabetes and Cognition Follow-up study 2019’ (the DiaKO-19 study, n=2661) which aims at investigating the influence of type 2 diabetes and depression on cognitive decline. The data collection for the DiaKO-19 study was completed in May 2022 and the study is based on a re-assessment of the cognitive abilities of a male cohort with the military intelligence test called Børge Priens Prøve (BPP). The 2661 men have completed the BPP at the conscript board examination at a mean age of 19 years and then again at the DiaKO-19 follow up examination at a mean age of 67 years. They have also completed a comprehensive questionnaire including detailed questions on type 2 diabetes and depression.

Teaching and supervision

I have been teaching at various educational programs at the Faculty of Health Sciences at University of Copenhagen for the past 10 years. My experience covers both lectures and group teaching and supervision of BSc and MSc students.

2019-      Co-supervisor of 7 BSc and MSc theses students at the educational programs of Medicine and Public Health Sciences.

2019-      Medical psychology (primarily lectures) at Medicine, Public Health Sciences, Odontology, and the Master’s program in Health Science at UCPH.

2012-17 Medical sociology (group teaching) at Medicine, UCPH.

2012-17 Introduction to Epidemiology and Biostatistics (SAS-programming), at the Master’s program in Public Health (MPH) at UCPH.

Conflicts of interest

I have no conflicts of interest to declare in relation to ongoing or past research projects.