Greater Improvement in Summer Than With Light Treatment in Winter in Patients With Seasonal Affective Disorder

Objective:The authors sought to compare the degree of mood improvement after light treatment with mood improvement in the subsequent summer in patients with seasonal affective disorder. Method:By using the Seasonal Affective Disorder Version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the authors rated...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of psychiatry 1998-11, Vol.155 (11), p.1614-1616
Main Authors: Postolache, Teodor T., Hardin, Todd A., Myers, Frances S., Turner, Erick H., Yi, Ludy Y., Barnett, Ronald L., Matthews, Jeffery R., Rosenthal, Norman E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Comparison
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Improvements
Light
Male
Medical sciences
Mental disorders
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Patients
Phototherapy
Phototherapy - methods
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - statistics & numerical data
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Seasonal Affective Disorder - diagnosis
Seasonal Affective Disorder - psychology
Seasonal Affective Disorder - therapy
Seasonal affective disorders
Seasons
Summer
Treatment Outcome
Treatments
Winter
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective:The authors sought to compare the degree of mood improvement after light treatment with mood improvement in the subsequent summer in patients with seasonal affective disorder. Method:By using the Seasonal Affective Disorder Version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the authors rated 15 patients with seasonal affective disorder on three occasions: during winter when the patients were depressed, during winter following 2 weeks of light therapy, and during the following summer. They compared the three conditions by using Friedman's analysis of variance and the Wilcoxon signed ranks test.Results:The patients' scores on the depression scale were significantly higher after 2 weeks of light therapy in winter than during the following summer. Conclusions:Light treatment for 2 weeks in winter is only partially effective when compared to summer. Further studies will be necessary to assess if summer's light or other factors are the main contributors to this difference. Am J Psychiatry 1998; 155: 1614-1616
ISSN:0002-953X
1535-7228
DOI:10.1176/ajp.155.11.1614