Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-gtxcr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T05:58:08.480Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Prevention of winter seasonal affective disorder by bright-light treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Timo Partonen  and
Jouko Lönnqvist
Timo Partonen*
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, National Public Health Institute and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Jouko Lönnqvist
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, National Public Health Institute and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Timo Partonen Department of Mental HealthNational Public Health InstituteMannerheimintie 160. FIN-00300 HelsinkiFinland.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

In patients with winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD) the onset of a depressive episode is probably associated with the decreasing amount of light during the autumn. A highly predictable onset of a recurrent depressive episode with seasonal pattern provides a rationale for testing the efficacy of bright-light treatment as a preventive measure. Twelve out-patients with winter SAD were assigned to start bright light treatment either when they were well, or not to start it until the first symptoms of depression had already emerged. The severity of depressive symptoms was prospectively rated for a parallel randomized comparison. Bright light given well in advance of the emerging symptoms prevented a depressive episode. Clinical remission was significantly more frequent in the former subgroup of the patients in January and in March. To sum up, bright light can be successfully administered as prophylactic treatment for the prevention of winter SAD.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 26 , Issue 5 , September 1996 , pp. 1075 - 1080
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1987). DSM-III-R: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edn, revised. American Psychiatric Press: Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Feinstein, A. R. (1985). Clinical Epidemiology: The Architecture of Clinical Research. W. B. Saunders Company: Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Jacobsen, F. M., Wehr, T. A., Sack, D. A., James, S. P. & Rosenthal, N. E. (1987). Seasonal affective disorder: a review of the syndrome and its public health implications. American Journal of Public Health 77, 57–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lam, R. W., Buchanan, A., Mador, J. A. & Corral, M. R. (1992). Hypersomnia and morning light therapy for winter depression. Biological Psychiatry 31, 1062–1064.Google Scholar
Meesters, Y., Lambers, P. A., Jansen, J. H. C., Bouhuys, A. L., Beersma, D. G. M. & Van den Hoofdakker, R. H. (1991). Can winter depression be prevented by light treatment? Journal of Affective Disorders 23, 75–79.Google Scholar
Meesters, Y., Jansen, J. H. C., Beersma, D. G. M., Bouhuys, A. L. & Van den Hoofdakker, R. H. (1993). Early light treatment can prevent an emerging winter depression from developing into a full-blown depression. Journal of Affective Disorders 29, 41–47.Google Scholar
Meesters, Y., Jansen, J. H. C., Beersma, D. G. M., Bouhuys, A. L. & Van den Hoofdakker, R. H. (1994). An attempt to prevent winter depression by light exposure at the end of September. Biological Psychiatry 35, 284–286.Google Scholar
Meesters, Y., Jansen, J. H. C., Beersma, D. G. M., Bouhuys, A. L. & Van den Hoofdakker, R. H. (1995). Light therapy for seasonal affective disorder: the effects of timing. British Journal of Psychiatry 166, 607–612.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oren, D. A., Shannon, N. J., Carpenter, C. J. & Rosenthal, N. E. (1991). Usage patterns of phototherapy in seasonal affective disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry 32, 147–152.Google Scholar
Oren, D. A., Jacobsen, F. M., Wehr, T. A., Cameron, C. L. & Rosenthal, N. E. (1992). Predictors of response to phototherapy in seasonal affective disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry 33, 111–114.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, N. E., Sack, D. A., Gillin, J. C., Lewy, A. J., Goodwin, F. K., Davenport, Y., Mueller, P. S., Newsome, D. A. & Wehr, T. A. (1984). Seasonal affective disorder: a description of the syndrome and preliminary findings with light therapy. Archives of General Psychiatry 41, 72–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W., Gibbon, M. & First, M. B. (1990). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. Academic Psychiatric Press: Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Terman, M., Terman, J. S. & Rafferty, B. (1990). Experimental design and measures of success in the treatment of winter depression by bright light. Psychopharmacology Bulletin 26, 505–510.Google ScholarPubMed
Terman, J. S., Terman, M. & Amira, L. (1994). One-week light treatment of winter depression near its onset: the time course of relapse. Depression 2, 20–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, J. B. W., Link, M. J., Rosenthal, N. E. & Terman, M. (1991). Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale – Seasonal Affective Disorders Version (Self-Rating Format), revised. New York State Psychiatric Institute: New York.Google Scholar