Published in September last year, the article Physical Activity Is Associated With Lower Long-Term Incidence of Anxiety in a Population-Based, Large-Scale Study has had a major impact in the international media, both on publication and to this day. What do you put this down to?

– It’s probably because it affects so many people and the study is easy to relate to. And then there is such a large group of skiers and matched control subjects, almost 400,000 people, who we have followed for up to 21 years; so, it is also a strong study scientifically. That said, one must remain humble when interpreting the data, as we do not show any causality.

You are an experimental neuroscientist and your focus is usually on brain cells: how did you come to publish a study of Vasaloppet?

– Well, while from a purely scientific point of view I might be outside my comfort zone, that just makes it more challenging and enjoyable! The idea came to me after skiing the course between Sälen and Mora myself a couple of times, after which I contacted Ulf Hållmarker, former chief physician for Vasaloppet, and Stefan James, professor of cardiology at Uppsala University, who had already built up a database of 200,000 Vasaloppet competitors between 1989 and 2010.
We were already studying physical exercise experimentally in the lab, which made it even more enjoyable to attempt to gain a translational perspective on our questions.

The study compared some 200,000 people who had competed in Vasaloppet during the period 1989–2010 with an equally large group from the general population. This comparative study has resulted in several articles, the most recent of which deals with skiing and anxiety and was picked up on by the New York Times. You have previously published a study on skiing, depression and vascular dementia, which also attracted international attention.

Tell us, what were your thoughts when designing the studies?

– In principle, the studies share the same design and a very simple question: If you live an active life and compete in Vasaloppet, do you have a lower risk of suffering from brain diseases? We have used competing in Vasaloppet, especially if one achieves a fast time, as a proxy for how fit and active one is. It’s exciting to see how incidence of various brain diseases are affected by this ‘Vasaloppet factor’ linked to physical activity.

Are more papers on the way based on this basic material?

– Yes indeed, more are coming...

In your opinion, what is the significance of this international attention?

– To exist as a researcher, you have to deliver high-impact studies, which are often linked to scientific articles in prestigious journals. You rarely see an immediate benefit from your research. Even though none of our work on Vasaloppet has been published in such a journal, it has still had an enormous impact. I am convinced that the article in the New York Times will inspire people to exercise and thereby improve health. One splendid example of this is provided by the father of my childhood friend, who called me to say how pleased he was to see one of our studies mentioned in the media, as it was so true of his own health and inspired him to exercise more. That was certainly a heartwarming conversation.