Indoors illumination and seasonal changes in mood and behavior are associated with the health-related quality of life

Seasonal changes in mood and behavior are common in a general population, being of relevance to public health. We wanted to analyze whether the HRQoL is associated with the seasonal changes in mood and behavior. Because the shortage of exposure to daylight or artificial bright light has been linked...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health and quality of life outcomes 2008-08, Vol.6 (1), p.56-56
Main Authors: Grimaldi, Sharon, Partonen, Timo, Saarni, Samuli I, Aromaa, Arpo, Lönnqvist, Jouko
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of Daily Living
Adult
Affect
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Behavior
Depression - epidemiology
Depression - etiology
Depression, Mental
Electric lighting
Female
Finland
Health aspects
Humans
Lighting
Male
Middle Aged
Psychological aspects
Psychological Tests
Quality of life
Quality of Life - psychology
Regression Analysis
Seasons
Surveys and Questionnaires
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Seasonal changes in mood and behavior are common in a general population, being of relevance to public health. We wanted to analyze whether the HRQoL is associated with the seasonal changes in mood and behavior. Because the shortage of exposure to daylight or artificial bright light has been linked to the occurrence of the seasonal changes, we wanted to know whether illumination indoors contributes to the HRQoL. Of the sample of 7979 individuals, being representative of the Finnish general population aged 30 and over, 88% were interviewed face to face, and 84% participated in the health status examination after which the self-report assessment of the HRQoL and the seasonal changes in mood and behavior took place. The illumination levels experienced indoors were asked during the interview and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was filled in before the health examination. The HRQoL was influenced by both the seasonal changes in mood and behavior (P < 0.001) and the illumination experienced indoors (P < 0.001). Greater seasonal changes (P < 0.001) and poor illumination indoors (P = 0.0035) were associated with more severe mental ill-being. The routinely emerging seasonal changes in mood and behavior are associated with the HRQoL and mental well-being. Better illumination indoors might alleviate the season-bound symptoms and thereby enhance the HRQoL and mental well-being.
ISSN:1477-7525
1477-7525
DOI:10.1186/1477-7525-6-56