Pia Svedberg

Pia Svedberg is an Associate Professor and Principal Researcher at Karolinska Institutet's Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Insurance Medicine. Her research focuses on understanding genetic and environmental determinants of work disability, particularly sickness absence and disability pensions, through twin cohort studies and national register data.

• PhD in Epidemiology (2006), Karolinska Institutet
• Docent in Epidemiology (2013), Karolinska Institutet
• BSc in Psychology (1995), Uppsala University

Her research group examines musculoskeletal and mental disorders' impact on labor market participation, utilizing Swedish Twin Registry data and national health registers. Key projects include the Swedish Twin project Of Disability pension and Sickness absence (STODS) and Sustainable working life: early determinants and later predictors (SustWork), analyzing comorbidity, genetic liability, and workplace environment factors.

Recent publications highlight her work on twin trajectories of work disability, gender-specific risk factors, and the interplay between mental health and occupational outcomes. Collaborations span Nordic institutions like University of Helsinki, University of Southern Denmark, and Norwegian Institute of Public Health through the NorTwinDiSa network.

She leads studies investigating how early life events, health behaviors, and psychosocial factors influence sustainable working life, emphasizing methodological rigor through co-twin control designs and longitudinal analysis.