Job, utdanning og forskningsinteresser:
- Forskningsleder: Klinikk for psykiskhelse og avhengighet (PHA), OUS og UiO siden 2020
- Professor ved Institutt for klinisk medisin, UiO siden 2023
- Førsteamanuensis ved Institutt for klinisk medisin, UiO 2016-2022
- Prosjektleder: NORPART - COMENTH
- Spesialist i voksenpsykiatri fullført i 2010 fra Oslo Universitetssykehus (OUS), og jobbet på samme sykehus som overlege (i fulltid fram til 2016 og deltid fram til 2020).
- PhD, Det medisinske fakultet, Universitetet i Oslo, 2006.
- Master i filosofi (M.Phil) i internasjonal helse fra Universitetet i Oslo, 2001
- Bachelor of Medicine og Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) fra det medisinske instituttet, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1995
- Forsknings interesser og erfaringer innenfor traume forskning, stress, PTSD, psykoimmunologi, psykonkologi, transkulturell psykiatri, perinatal psykiatri, migrasjon og global mental helse
Emneord:
Transkulturell psykiatri,
migrasjon,
traumer,
PTSD,
SDGs,
biologiske markører
Publikasjoner
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Pant, Sagun Ballav; Thapa, Suraj Bahadur; Howard, John; Ojha, Saroj Prasad & Lien, Lars
(2023).
Internalized Stigma and its Correlates Among Opioid Agonist Treatment Service Users in Nepal.
Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health.
ISSN 2198-9834.
doi:
10.1007/s40737-023-00353-4.
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Opioid use disorder is associated with high levels of stigma and discrimination, which impact treatment seeking and compliance. Despite extensive evidence as an optimal intervention for opioid use disorder, enrollment in Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) in settings like Nepal, is accompanied by moral judgements and stigma with a broad narrative of it being merely a replacement of ‘one addiction with another’. Stigma is eventually internalized by many service users impacting enrollment and maintenance in OAT, and quality of life. This study aimed to assess internalized stigma among OAT service users in Nepal and to explore its association with sociodemographic characteristics, lifetime mental disorders and quality of life. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 231 OAT service users, the survey instrument included the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview for DSM-5, Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Inventory (ISMI) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life –BREF. Factors associated with quality of life and internalized stigma were investigated using bivariate and multivariate analyses. More than half (56.28%) of respondents reported having high internalized stigma with a mean ISMI score of 2.71 ± 0.64. All 29 ISMI items were found to have a mean score greater than 2.5 indicating a high burden of internalized stigma. Service users reporting higher internalized stigma had significantly lower quality of life across all domains, greater medical co-morbidity, lifetime anxiety and depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder. To lessen stigma and its impacts, our findings recommend a national initiative targeting stigma reduction interventions for existing OAT services and beneficiaries.
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Pant, Sagun Ballav; Thapa, Suraj Bahadur; Howard, John; Ojha, Saroj Prasad & Lien, Lars
(2023).
Psychological distress and quality of life among Opioid Agonist Treatment service users with a history of injecting and non-injecting drug use: A cross-sectional study in Kathmandu, Nepal.
PLOS ONE.
ISSN 1932-6203.
18(2).
doi:
10.1371/journal.pone.0281437.
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Background: Opioid use disorder is a serious public health problem in Nepal. People who use opioids often experience psychological distress and poor quality of life. Opioid agonist Treatment (OAT) is central in managing opioid dependence. This study aimed to examine factors associated with quality of life and serious psychological distress among OAT service users in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal and compare those who had injected opioids prior to OAT and those who had not.
Methods: A cross-sectional study with 231 was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire, the Nepalese versions of the Kessler 6 psychological distress scale and World Health Organization Quality of Life scale (WHOQOL-BREF). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were undertaken to examine factors associated with quality of life and serious psychological distress.
Results: Most participants were males (92%) and about half had injected opioids before initiating OAT. Serious psychological distress in the past four weeks was significantly more prevalent among participants with a history of injecting (32.2%) than those who did not inject (15.9%). In the adjusted linear regression model, those who had history of injecting were likely to have lower physical quality of life compared to non-injectors. Those self-reporting a past history of mental illness were more than seven times and those with medical comorbidity twice more likely to have serious psychological distress over last four weeks. Lower socioeconomic status and a history of self-reported mental illness in the past were found to be significantly associated with lower quality of life on all four domains.
Conclusion: Those who had history of injecting were younger, had frequent quit attempts, higher medical comorbidity, lower socioeconomic status and remained longer in OAT services. Alongside OAT, the complex and entangled needs of service users, especially those with a history of injecting drugs, need to be addressed to improve quality of life and lessen psychological distress.
Copyright: © 2023 Pant et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Mainali, Anustha; Infanti, Jennifer Jean; Thapa, Suraj Bahadur; Jacobsen, Geir Wenberg & Larose, Tricia Lynn Lois
(2023).
Anxiety and depression in pregnant women who have experienced a previous perinatal loss: a case‑cohort study from Scandinavia.
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.
ISSN 1471-2393.
23(1).
doi:
10.1186/s12884-022-05318-2.
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Background: Perinatal loss can have long-lasting adverse effects on a woman’s psychosocial health, including during subsequent pregnancies. However, maternal mental health status after perinatal loss during subsequent pregnancy is understudied with very little data available for Scandinavian populations. Aims: The primary aim of the study was to explore the association between previous perinatal loss and anxiety/ depression symptoms of expectant mothers during the subsequent pregnancy. The secondary aim of this study was to explore possible determinants of maternal mental health during the subsequent pregnancy, independent of previous perinatal loss. Method: This case-cohort study is based on primary data from Scandinavian Successive Small-for-Gestational Age Births Study (SGA Study) in Norway and Sweden. The total case-cohort sample in the current study includes 1458 women. Cases include 401 women who had reported a previous perinatal loss (spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, or neonatal death) and who responded to two mental health assessment instruments, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the association between previous perinatal loss and maternal mental health in subsequent pregnancy. Results: Scandinavian pregnant women with previous perinatal loss reported higher symptoms for both anxiety and depression during their subsequent pregnancy compared to mothers in the same cohort reported no previous perinatal loss. Multiple linear regression analyses showed a positive association between previous perinatal loss and per unit increase in both total anxiety score (β: 1.22, 95% CI: 0.49–1.95) and total depression score (β: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.06–1.74). We identified several factors associated with maternal mental health during pregnancy independent of perinatal loss, including unintended pregnancy despite 97% of our population being married/cohabitating. Conclusion: Women who have experienced previous perinatal loss face a significantly higher risk of anxiety and depression symptoms in their subsequent pregnancy.
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Søegaard, Erik Ganesh Iyer; Kan, Zhanna; Aass, Hans Christian Dalsbotten; Koirala, Rishav; Hauff, Edvard & Thapa, Suraj
(2022).
Abnormal Cytokines in Trauma Patients Explained by Obesity, Musculoskeletal Disease, Smoking, and Lung Disease.
Neuropsychobiology.
ISSN 0302-282X.
81(6),
s. 516–530.
doi:
10.1159/000526806.
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Introduction: Low-grade inflammation observed through abnormal plasma cytokine levels has been associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is not clear whether PTSD independently causes the inflammation or if it is mainly through co-occurring somatic factors such as smoking and obesity. We wanted to explore the effects of biopsychosocial factors on cytokine levels in a clinical setting. Methods: The sample consisted of 51 patients with PTSD, 58 trauma patients without PTSD, and 40 matched controls. We selected cytokines and relevant risk factors for systemic inflammation through pairwise correlations. Then, we used linear regression to analyze the individual and combined effects of these on the (Log10) cytokines, particularly estimating the effect of PTSD adjusted for other factors. Results: Higher age, female gender, cigarette smoking, presence of lung and musculoskeletal disease, use of antipsychotic medication, and higher BMI were correlated with higher levels of interleukins IL-1RA, IL-2RA, and IL-6. In the adjusted regression analysis, higher BMI was associated with increased IL-1RA (B = 0.06, p < 0.01), IL-2RA (B = 0.01, p < 0.01), and IL-6 (B = 0.01, p = 0.03). Presence of musculoskeletal disease was associated with increased IL-1RA (B = 0.72, p < 0.01) and IL-6 (B = 0.16, p = 0.01), and decreased IL-2RA (B = −0.09, p < 0.01). Cigarette smoking (B = 0.16, p = 0.01) and presence of lung disease (B = 0.14, p = 0.02) were associated with increased IL-6. PTSD diagnosis was associated with decreased IL-2RA (B = −0.06, p = 0.04). Discussion/Conclusion: Altered cytokine levels in distressed trauma-affected individuals are probably mostly through co-occurring risk factors and not PTSD diagnosis. Increased BMI and musculoskeletal (pain) disease may be particularly strong risk factors and should be addressed.
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Dhungana, Saraswati; Koirala, Rishav; Ojha, Saroj Prasad & Thapa, Suraj
(2022).
Association of childhood trauma, and resilience, with quality of life in patients seeking treatment at a psychiatry outpatient: A cross-sectional study from Nepal.
PLOS ONE.
ISSN 1932-6203.
17(10),
s. 1–13.
doi:
10.1371/journal.pone.0275637.
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Kan, Zhanna; Søegaard, Erik Ganesh Iyer; Siqveland, Johan; Hussain, Ajmal; Hanssen-Bauer, Ketil & Jensen, Pia
[Vis alle 12 forfattere av denne artikkelen]
(2022).
Coping, Social Support and Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Effect on Depression and Anxiety: Patients’ Experiences in Community Mental Health Centers in Norway.
Healthcare.
ISSN 2227-9032.
10(5).
doi:
10.3390/healthcare10050875.
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Background: Little is known about psychiatric patients’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations of coping strategies, social support and loneliness with mental health symptoms among these patients. Methods: We recruited 164 patients from Community Mental Health Centers in June–July 2020. Participants responded to an online questionnaire on corona-related questions, Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experience, Crisis Support Scale, a 3-item Loneliness Scale, and Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25. We used linear regression models to investigate associations between these and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Results: Almost 51% were aged 31–50 years and 77% were females. Forty-six (28%) participants reported worsened overall mental health due to the pandemic. The reported rates of clinical depression and anxiety were 84% and 76%, respectively. Maladaptive coping was independently associated with both depression and anxiety symptoms. Loneliness was independently associated with depression symptoms. Conclusions: Patients in Community Mental Health Centers in Norway reported high rates of depression and anxiety symptoms. Many of them reported worsening of their mental health due to the pandemic, even at a time when COVID-19 infections and restrictive measures were relatively low. Maladaptive coping strategies and loneliness may be possible explanations for more distress.
Keywords: anxiety; depression; COVID-19; coping; Community Mental Health Centers; loneliness; social support
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Dhungana, Saraswati; Koirala, Rishav; Ojha, Saroj Prasad & Thapa, Suraj Bahadur
(2021).
Quality of life and its association with psychiatric disorders in outpatients with trauma history in a tertiary hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal: a cross-sectional study.
BMC Psychiatry.
ISSN 1471-244X.
21:98,
s. 1–11.
doi:
10.1186/s12888-021-03104-6.
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Abraham, Ruth; Leonhardt, Marja; Lien, Lars; Hanssen, Ingrid; Hauff, Edvard & Thapa, Suraj Bahadur
(2021).
The relationship between religiosity/spirituality and quality of life among female Eritrean refugees living in Norwegian asylum centres.
International Journal of Social Psychiatry.
ISSN 0020-7640.
doi:
10.1177/00207640211010207.
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Background:
Women are more vulnerable to mental health problems than men after migration, but little is known about the influence of religiosity/spirituality on their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to explore religiosity/spirituality, in relationships with various domains of quality of life, among female Eritrean refugees staying in Norwegian asylum centres.
Method:
A questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics was used together with the World Health OrganizationQuality of Life – Spirituality, Religiosity and Personal Beliefs (WHOQOL-SRPB) questionnaire, which assesses religiosity/spirituality and domains of quality of life. A total of 63 adult female Eritrean refugees who had been granted asylum but were still living in asylum reception centres located in southern and central Norway participated.
Results:
Religiosity/spirituality was independently associated with psychological quality of life (B = 0.367, p < .001), level of independence (B = 0.184, p = .028), social quality of life (B = 0.500, p = .003), environmental quality of life (B = 0.323, p < .001) and overall quality of life (B = 0.213, p < .001), but not with physical quality of life (B = 0.056, p = .679). There were no significant differences between religious affiliations on religiosity/spirituality or quality of life measures.
Conclusion:
Consistent with previous research, this study highlights the correlation between religiosity/spirituality and overall quality of life. We recommend a longitudinal follow-up study of similar populations, after they are resettled and integrated into their host countries, to understand the associations between quality of life and religiosity/spirituality over time.
Keywords
Eritrea, refugees, religiosity, spirituality, quality of life, well-being
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Koirala, Rishav; Søegaard, Erik Ganesh Iyer; Ojha, Saroj Prasad; Hauff, Edvard & Thapa, Suraj B.
(2020).
Trauma related psychiatric disorders and their correlates in a clinical sample: A cross-sectional study in trauma affected patients visiting a psychiatric clinic in Nepal.
PLOS ONE.
ISSN 1932-6203.
15(6).
doi:
10.1371/journal.pone.0234203.
Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
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Koirala, Rishav; Søegaard, Erik Ganesh Iyer & Thapa, Suraj Bahadur
(2017).
Updates on pharmacological treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Journal of Nepal Medical Association.
ISSN 0028-2715.
56(206),
s. 274–280.
doi:
10.31729/jnma.3108.
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Thapa, Suraj Bahadur ; Martinez, Priscilla & Clausen, Thomas
(2014).
Depression and its correlates in South Africa and Ghana among people aged 50 and above: Findings from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health.
African Journal of Psychiatry.
ISSN 1994-8220.
17(6).
doi:
10.4172/Psychiatry.1000167.
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Tol, WA; Komproe, IH; Jordans, MJD; Thapa, Suraj Bahadur ; Sharma, B & De Jong, JTVM
(2009).
BRIEF MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TREATMENT FOR TORTURE SURVIVORS IN NEPAL: A NATURALISTIC COMPARATIVE STUDY.
International Journal of Social Psychiatry.
ISSN 0020-7640.
55(1),
s. 39–56.
doi:
10.1177/0020764008091525.
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Tol, WA; Komproe, IH; Thapa, Suraj Bahadur ; Jordans, MJD; Sharma, B & De Jong, JTVM
(2007).
Disability associated with psychiatric symptoms among torture survivors in rural Nepal.
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.
ISSN 0022-3018.
195.
doi:
10.1097/NMD.0b013e31802f5dac.
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Dalgard, Odd Steffen; Suraj, Bahadur Thapa; Hauff, Edvard; McCubbin, Michael & Syed, Hammad Raza Zaidi
(2006).
Immigration, lack of control and psychological distress: Findings from the Oslo Health Study.
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology.
ISSN 0036-5564.
47,
s. 551–558.
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Suraj, Bahadur Thapa & Hauff, Edvard
(2005).
Gender differences in factors associated with psychological distress among immigrants from low- and middle-income countries - Findings from the Oslo Health Study.
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.
ISSN 0933-7954.
40.
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Van Ommeren, Mark; de Jong, JTVM; Sharma, B; Komproe, I; Thapa, Suraj Bahadur & Carden, E
(2001).
Psychiatric disorders among tortured refugees in Nepal. 2001.
Archives of General Psychiatry.
ISSN 0003-990X.
s. 475–482.
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Thapa, Suraj Bahadur ; Van Ommeren, Mark; Sharma, B; Makaju, R & de Jong, JTVM
(2000).
Limited cultural validity of Composite International Diagnostic Interview's proble flow chart.
Transcultural Psychiatry.
ISSN 1363-4615.
37,
s. 123–134.
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Tyssen, Reidar; Javo, Cecilie; Thapa, Suraj Bahadur; Isaksson Rø, Karin Elisabet; Preljevic, Valjbona & Sandbu, Morten
(2023).
Perceived clinical challenges when treating patients from another culture: a study among doctors training in psychiatry.
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Thapa, Suraj Bahadur & Acharya, Ganesh
(2017).
Women's health is not in focus in disaster zones: lessons from the Nepal earthquake.
Journal of family planning and reproductive health care.
ISSN 1471-1893.
43(2),
s. 92–93.
doi:
10.1136/jfprhc-2016-101605.
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Preljevic, Valjbona T. & Thapa, Suraj Bahadur
(2014).
Tverkulturelle forhold,
Psykiske reaksjoner ved somatisk sykdom.
Cappelen Damm Akademisk.
ISSN 9788202418786.
s. 89–106.
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Patel, Vikram; Sumathipala, Athula; Khan, MM & Thapa, Suraj Bahadur
(2007).
South Asia.
I Bhui, Kamaldeep & Bhugra, Dinesh (Red.),
Culture and mental health: a comprehensive textbook.
CRC Press.
ISSN 978-0340810460.
s. 212–224.
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Thapa, Suraj Bahadur
(2007).
Bhutan.
I D'Avanzo, Carolyn Erickson (Red.),
Cultural Health Assessment.
Elsevier.
ISSN 9780323048347.
s. 80–83.
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Suraj, Bahadur Thapa
(2006).
Population based studies of mental health among migrants in Nepal and Norway:migration and adversity in different contexts.
Unipub forlag.
ISSN 82-8080-185-5.
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Publisert
21. jan. 2016 19:12
- Sist endret
30. okt. 2023 16:37