A Follow-up Study of Seasonal Affective Disorder

1995 ◽  
Vol 167 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Thompson ◽  
Sunil K. Raheja ◽  
Elizabeth A. King

BackgroundThe long-term course of seasonal affective disorder has not been well studied.MethodUsing the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM–III–R, we interviewed 75% of a sample of 124 subjects diagnosed from five to eight years previously as fulfilling DSM–III–R criteria for recurrent major affective disorder, seasonal pattern.ResultsIn the follow-up period, 38% of the sample continued to fulfil DSM–III–R criteria for seasonal illness; 28% had recurrent major depressive disorder, but no longer displayed a seasonal pattern; 18% were completely well with no further depression; 6% had subsyndromal symptoms; and 5%, although not meeting DSM–III–R criteria for seasonal illness, were still displaying constant periodicity. A short duration of index episode and a high frequency of illness predicted a continuing seasonal course of illness.ConclusionDiagnostic criteria for seasonal affective disorder need to be further refined, possibly restrictively, if they are to be used to predict the future course of seasonal illness.

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherri Melrose

Seasonal affective disorder or SAD is a recurrent major depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern usually beginning in fall and continuing into winter months. A subsyndromal type of SAD, or S-SAD, is commonly known as “winter blues.” Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer. Symptoms center on sad mood and low energy. Those most at risk are female, are younger, live far from the equator, and have family histories of depression, bipolar disorder, or SAD. Screening instruments include the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). Typical treatment includes antidepressant medications, light therapy, Vitamin D, and counselling. This paper provides an overview of SAD.


1994 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 457-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Leonhardt ◽  
Anna Wirz-Justice ◽  
Kurt Kräuchi ◽  
Peter Graw ◽  
Dorothea Wunder ◽  
...  

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 664-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edda Pjrek ◽  
Dietmar Winkler ◽  
Siegfried Kasper

AbstractSeasonal affective disorder is a common variant of recurrent major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder. Treatment with bright artificial light has been found to be effective in this condition. However, for patients who do not respond to light therapy or those who lack compliance, conventional drug treatment with antidepressants also has been proposed. Substances with selective serotonergic or noradrenergic mechanisms should be preferred over older antidepressants. Although there are a number of open and controlled studies evaluating different compounds, these studies were often limited by relatively small sample sizes. Furthermore, there are no studies specifically addressing bipolar seasonal depression. This article will review the published literature on pharmacotherapy of seasonal affective disorder.


1987 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasad R. Palakurthy ◽  
Claudio Maldonado ◽  
Gurbachan Sohi ◽  
Nancy C. Flowers

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 986-992
Author(s):  
Yardena Rakover ◽  
Hanna Adar ◽  
Itamar Tal ◽  
Yaron Lang ◽  
Amos Kedar

Behcet disease is rare in children. There are only two reports of Behcet disease in childhood, describing seven patients. Three pediatric patients are described, in whom the age of onset ranged from 6 to 11 years. Aphthous stomatitis and arthritis were present in all of the patients; genital ulcers, iridocylitis, erythema nodosum, and CNS involvement were present in two patients. Other manifestations included Stevens-Johnson-like eruption, fever of unknown origin, and testicular involvement. All of the patients responded to glucocorticoids; two were also treated with colchicine and one was treated with chlorambucil. In two patients, follow-up of more than 10 years was done, with complete cure in one patient and benign course of illness in the other. Because of the rarity of the disease in childhood and the difficulty in making the diagnosis, there is not enough awareness by pediatricians concerning this disease.


1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.H. Van Den Hoofdakker ◽  
M.C.M. Gordijn

The present explosive growth of interest in the therapeutic possibilities of exposure to light was triggered by a patient, Herbert Kern. He suffered from episodic depressive and manic complaints and discovered, by registering these over the years, a seasonal pattern in their occurrence. Discussions with scientists of the NIMH resulted in his participation in a bright light-treatment experiment when he was depressed in the winter of 1980-1981. He recovered.Next, the same group of investigators defined the criteria for a new syndrome, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): a history of major affective disorder (according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria), at least two consecutive years in which the depressions have occurred during fall or winter and remitted in the following spring or summer, and the absence of any clear-cut seasonally changing psychosocial variable, such as work, stress and so on.


2002 ◽  
Vol 180 (5) ◽  
pp. 394-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Kendrick

In this issue, Eagles et al report that people suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) are heavy users of primary health care services (Eagles et al, 2002, this issue). Nearly 10% of patients attending practices in Aberdeen screened positive for SAD using the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ; Rosenthal et al, 1987), among whom around half of those attending for interview fulfilled DSM–IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria for recurrent major depression with seasonal pattern. The patients with SAD had consulted significantly more frequently over a 5-year period, with a variety of symptoms both related and unrelated to SAD, and had received significantly more prescriptions, investigations and referrals than patients found not to fulfil the criteria for SAD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 595-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna S. Urrila ◽  
◽  
Olli Kiviruusu ◽  
Henna Haravuori ◽  
Linnea Karlsson ◽  
...  

Abstract Sleep abnormalities in major depressive disorder (MDD) have been suggested to represent a vulnerability trait, which might predispose the individual to long-term psychiatric morbidity. In this study, we sought to assess whether the presence of sleep symptoms among adolescents with MDD is associated with poorer long-term outcome in young adulthood during naturalistic follow-up. Adolescent outpatients diagnosed with MDD (n = 166; age 13–19 years, 17.5% boys) were followed up during 8 years in naturalistic settings. N = 112 adolescents (16.1% boys) completed the 8-year assessment. Sleep symptoms and psychosocial functioning were assessed with structured clinical interviews, and depressive and anxiety symptoms with questionnaires. The severity of sleep symptoms at baseline was not associated with worse outcome at 8 years in terms of any of the outcome measures tested. In particular, the presence of a disturbed sleep–wake rhythm at baseline was associated with a more favourable outcome at 8 years: less depression and anxiety symptoms and higher level of psychosocial functioning. The presence of sleep symptoms in young adulthood was associated with the presence of current depression and anxiety symptoms and poorer psychosocial functioning. The presence of sleep symptoms at follow-up seems to be state-dependent: they are observed in conjunction with other psychiatric symptoms. Contrary to our hypothesis, our results suggest that sleep complaints among adolescents with MDD do not lead to poorer long-term clinical outcome in young adulthood. The link between sleep–wake rhythm disturbance and better long-term outcome needs to be confirmed and examined in detail in further studies, but here we speculate about possible explanations.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 366-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra C. Deford ◽  
Lauren H. Schwartz ◽  
Jedidiah J. Perdue ◽  
Jessica A. Reese ◽  
Johanna A. Kremer Hovinga ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 366 Introduction Recovery from an acute episode of TTP is typically assumed to be complete. However patients from the Oklahoma TTP-HUS Registry have often described persistent problems with memory, concentration, and endurance. Our previous studies have documented long-term deficits in quality-of-life and cognitive functioning. We have also observed an unexpectedly high frequency of severe depression. Therefore we documented the relative frequency of severe depression during long-term follow-up and compared the relative frequency of severe depression in our patients to US and Oklahoma population data. Methods We included all Oklahoma TTP-HUS Registry patients whose initial episode was associated with severe ADAMTS13 deficiency (<10%), 1995–2010, and who were alive in 2004 when our psychiatric evaluations began. Patients completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) 1–5 times from 2004–2011. The BDI-II is a self-report measure consisting of 21 items. Scores are interpreted as suggesting no/minimal, mild, moderate or severe depression. In 2011, patients who had BDI-II scores indicating moderate or severe depression on at least 1 evaluation had a structured psychiatric interview to support the diagnosis of depression. In 2012, all patients were asked to complete an 8-item measure, the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). The relative frequency of patients whose PHQ-8 scores indicated major depression were compared to the relative frequency of major depression determined by the PHQ-8 in the Oklahoma and US populations in the most recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data, 2006 and 2008. Results Of 68 patients who had severe ADAMTS13 deficiency at the time of their initial episode of TTP, 52 were alive in 2004; 47 (90%) were evaluated by the BDI-II. Fifteen (32%) of the 47 patients had scores suggesting severe depression on at least 1 evaluation; 12 were alive in 2011 and 10 (83%) of these 12 patients underwent a structured psychiatric interview; 9 met criteria for a major depressive disorder based on this diagnostic interview. Seven (15%) of the 47 patients had scores indicating only moderate depression; 4 (57%) of these 7 patients underwent a structured psychiatric interview; 1 (25%) met criteria for a major depressive disorder. Thirty-seven (88%) of 42 surviving patients in 2012 were evaluated by the PHQ-8 6.3 years (median) after their initial episode; 7 (18.9%, 95% CI, 8.0–35.2) had scores suggesting major depression, which is significantly greater than the prevalence of major depression in the US (3.4%) and Oklahoma (3.5%). The greater relative frequency of major depression was consistent across demographic subgroups. Conclusion The relative frequency of severe depression is increased in patients during long-term follow-up after recovery from TTP. Recognition and appropriate management of this clinically important health problem are critical components of the care of patients who have survived acute episodes of TTP. Disclosures: Kremer Hovinga: Baxter Healthcare: Consultancy, Research Funding. Terrell:Amgen, Inc.: Consultancy; Baxter, Inc.: Consultancy. George:Alexion, Inc.: Consultancy; Amgen, Inc.: Consultancy, PI for clinical trial involving romiplostim, PI for clinical trial involving romiplostim Other, Research Funding; Baxter, Inc.: Consultancy.


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