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Use of light therapy in German psychiatric hospitals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

S Kasper ,
S Ruhrmann ,
S Neumann  and
HJ Möller
S Kasper
Affiliation:
University Hospital for Psychiatry, Dept of General Psychiatry, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, A-1090Vienna, Austria
S Ruhrmann
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Department of the University of Bonn, Germany
S Neumann
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Department of the University of Bonn, Germany
HJ Möller
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Department of the University of Bonn, Germany
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Summary

In order to determine the usage pattern of light therapy (LT), we performed a survey of all psychiatric hospitals in Germany in 1992. Our data reveal that 13% of all psychiatric hospitals perform LT and another 7% indicate their interest in this treatment. Stratification into different treatment facilities demonstrates that 57% of the psychiatric university hospitals use LT. The usage of LT started in Germany in 1982 and there was a sharp rise from 1987 onwards. The majority of hospitals (89% of those hospitals which use LT) use LT successfully for the treatment of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and its subsyndromal form followed by non-SAD depression (68%). LT is used as monotherapy in 71% of SAD patients compared with 34% in non-SAD depression.

Keywords

light therapyseasonal affective disordersubsyndromal seasonal affective disorderdepressionsurvey
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 9 , Issue 6 , 1994 , pp. 288 - 292
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 1994

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