Louise Thirstrup Thomsen is a researcher in Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Section for Health Promotion and Prevention. Louise has a master's degree in public health from the University of Copenhagen in 2010 and a PhD degree in public health and epidemiology from the University of Copenhagen in 2016.
Currently, Louise is working on the research project Generation Healthy Kids which aims to prevent obesity, combat social inequality in health and promote mental well-being among Danish school children. Louise is particularly involved in the part of the project focusing on creating environments and structures which support healthier food choices among the children and their families. Louise is interested in developing and evaluating complex interventions within the field of prevention, and structural initiatives to reduce social inequality in health.
Louise has previously worked 11 years as an epidemiologist within the field of cancer research. She focused particularly on prevention of cervical cancer, including vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer screening. Thus, Louise has extensive experience in design of epidemiological studies and quantitative analyses of register data, survey data and clinical data.
Louise has published more than 40 research publications, has supervised several PhD students, and has considerable experience with obtaining external funding.
Selected publications:
Urbute A, Kjaer SK, Kesmodel US, Frederiksen K, Thomsen LT. Women with obesity participate less in cervical cancer screening and are more likely to have unsatisfactory smears: Results from a nationwide Danish cohort study. Prev Med. 2022; 159:107072. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107072.
Larsen HK, Kjaer SK, Haedersdal M, Kjaer AK, Bonde JH, Sørensen SS, Thomsen LT. Anal human papillomavirus infection in kidney transplant recipients compared with immunocompetent controls. Clin Infect Dis. 19 Apr 2022. Online ahead of print. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac285.
Hertzum-Larsen R, Kjær SK, Frederiksen K, Thomsen LT. Follow-up after abnormal cervical cancer screening in immigrants compared with Danish-born women – A nationwide register study. Prev Med. 2021; 153:106776. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106776.
Thomsen LT, Kjaer SK, Munk C, Ørnskov D, Waldstrøm M. Benefits and potential harms of human papillomavirus (HPV)-based cervical cancer screening: A real-world comparison of HPV testing versus cytology. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2021; 100(3):394‑402. doi: 10.1111/aogs.14121.
Harder E, Hertzum-Larsen R, Frederiksen K, Kjær SK, Thomsen LT. Non-participation in cervical cancer screening according to health, lifestyle and sexual behavior: A population-based study of nearly 15,000 Danish women aged 23-45 years. Prev Med. 2020; 137:106119. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106119.
Thomsen LT, Kjær SK, Munk C, Frederiksen K, Ørnskov D, Waldstrøm M. Clinical Performance of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Testing versus Cytology for Cervical Cancer Screening: Results of a Large Danish Implementation Study. Clin Epidemiol. 2020; 12:203-213. doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S243546.
Hertzum-Larsen R, Kjær SK, Frederiksen K, Thomsen LT. Participation in cervical cancer screening among immigrants and Danish-born women in Denmark. Prev Med. 2019; 123:55-64. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.02.023.
Thomsen LT, Frederiksen K, Munk C, Junge J, Iftner T, Kjaer SK. Long-term risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or worse according to high-risk human papillomavirus genotype and semi-quantitative viral load among 33,288 women with normal cervical cytology. Int J Cancer. 2015; 137(1):193-203. doi: 10.1002/ijc.29374.