SAD effects on grantsmanship.

SAD is a state of depression induced by a lack of sufficient sunlight that occurs at high latitudes during the fall and winter. SAD causes people to be risk-adverse. Granting agencies of high latitude countries should time high-risk research competitions so they do not coincide with the SAD months.

The seasonality of bipolar affective disorder: comparison with a primary care sample using the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: In contrast with recurrent unipolar depression, relatively little is known about the seasonality of depressive episodes in bipolar affective disorder (BAD). METHOD: We compared responses on the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) between a cohort of 183 patients with BAD and a large sample of patients in primary care (N=4746). Comparisons were adjusted for age and gender. RESULTS: 27% of the BAD patients fulfilled SPAQ criteria for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD. This gave an adjusted odds ratio of 3.73 (95% confidence intervals 2.64 to 5.27) in comparison with the rate among the primary care samples. Global seasonality scores were significantly higher among BAD patients (adjusted mean difference 1.73, 95% CI 0.97 to 2.49, p<0.001). LIMITATIONS: The SPAQ was originally designed as a screening instrument rather than as a case-finding instrument. CONCLUSIONS: Vigilance for seasonal symptom recurrence in BAD may be important with regard to management and relapse prevention.

Prevalence of self-reported seasonal affective disorders and the validity of the seasonal pattern assessment questionnaire in young adults Findings from a Swiss community study.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to expand the knowledge on the prevalence of self-reported Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and to further study the validity of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). METHODS: A total of N=844 young adults were assessed in a Swiss community study by use of the SPAQ, a Seasonal Affective Disorders Questionnaire (SADQ), the Young Adult Self Report (YASR), the Centre for Epidemiologic Depression Scale (CES-D), and scales for measuring self-esteem, self-awareness and life events. At a second stage, a total of N=534 screen positives and controls were subjected to the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI) for the assessment of mental disorders. According to the SPAQ classification a group of SAD subjects and a group of subsyndromal SAD subjects (S-SAD) were defined. In addition, a third group of high-scoring depressives (HSD) subjects scoring above the 75th percentile of the CES-D was defined. Comparisons included these three groups and the rest of the sample serving as controls. RESULTS: The weighted prevalence for SAD in this sample was 7.84% based on the SPAQ alone. With the addition of the SADQ, weighted prevalence rates dropped to 2.22%. Weighted subsyndromal SAD was 33.04%. Across the vast majority of scales, the SAD group was indistinguishable from the HSD group. These two groups scored highest, whereas the S-SAD group had an intermediate position and the controls had the lowest scores. SAD was best predicted by the CES-D total score. CONCLUSIONS: The SPAQ as a single measure leads to an overestimation of SAD which, nevertheless, is a rather common phenomenon also in this central European population. The findings on the validity of the SPAQ are extended by showing that predominantly general aspects of depression are measured.

Dates of birth and seasonal changes in well-being among 4904 subjects completing the seasonal pattern assessment questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Abnormal distributions of birthdates, suggesting intrauterine aetiological factors, have been found in several psychiatric disorders, including one study of out-patients with Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). We investigated birthdate distribution in relation to seasonal changes in well-being among a cohort who had completed the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). METHOD: A sample of 4904 subjects, aged 16 to 64, completed the SPAQ. 476 were cases of S.A.D. on the SPAQ and 580 were cases of sub-syndromal S.A.D. (S-S.A.D.). 92 were interview confirmed cases of S.A.D. Months and dates of birth were compared between S.A.D. cases and all others, between S.A.D. and S-S.A.D. cases combined and all others, and between interview confirmed cases and all others. Seasonality, as measured through seasonal fluctuations in well-being on the Global Seasonality Scores (GSS) of the SPAQ, was compared for all subjects by month and season of birth. RESULTS: There was no evidence of an atypical pattern of birthdates for subjects fulfilling criteria for S.A.D., for the combined S.A.D./S-S.A.D. group or for interview confirmed cases. There was also no relationship between seasonality on the GSS and month or season of birth. LIMITATIONS: Diagnoses of S.A.D. made by SPAQ criteria are likely to be overinclusive. CONCLUSION: Our findings differ from studies of patients with more severe mood disorders, including psychiatric out-patients with S.A.D. The lack of association between seasonality and birthdates in our study adds credence to the view that the aetiology of S.A.D. relates to separable factors predisposing to affective disorders and to seasonality.

Seasonal variations in mood and behaviour associated with gender, annual income and education: the Hordaland Health Study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between demographic factors and seasonal changes in mood and behaviour. METHOD: A health survey was conducted among 40-45 year old inhabitants in Hordaland County, Norway. The Global Seasonality Score, investigating seasonal symptoms, was given to 4299 men and 9983 women. Response rates among those receiving the questionnaire were 79.8% for men (n = 3432) and 81.2% for women (n = 8223). RESULTS: High seasonality was reported by 18.4% of men and 22.2% of women. Female gender, low educational level, high level of affective symptomatology and low household income correlated with high seasonality. Among men, being single was also a determinant factor for high seasonality. Reported seasonality also depended on which month the questionnaire was filled in. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, high seasonality was most prevalent among females, being single, having a low annual income and a low education level. The latter two findings are different from expectations which could be drawn from previous studies suggesting an opposite association.

The reliability and validity of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire: a comparison between patient groups.

BACKGROUND: The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) is a frequently used screening instrument in the research on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Nevertheless, studies on its reliability and validity are relatively scarce. In the present study the reliability and the contrast validity of the SPAQ are investigated. METHODS: SAD patients, selected by means of a clinical interview, non-seasonal depressed out-patients, non-depressed out-patients, and a control group, are contrasted to estimate the discriminating power of the SPAQ. Also, the reliability and factor structure of the seasonality and the climate subscales are investigated. To study food intake the Seasonal Food Preference Questionnaire (SFPQ) was developed. RESULTS: The SAD criterion of the SPAQ shows good specificity (94%), but a low sensitivity (44%). Discriminant analysis shows sufficient ability to classify subjects (81% correctly classified). The Global Seasonality Scale has a good internal consistency. It consists of two factors, a psychological factor and a food factor. The SFPQ is sensitive for carbohydrate intake by SAD patients. LIMITATIONS: Most SAD patients had received treatment and completed the SPAQ while they were not depressed, which may have influenced the sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: The SPAQ is not sensitive enough to be considered a diagnostic instrument for SAD. Nevertheless, it is accurate enough to be used as a screenings instrument. The only false positives were found in the depressive group. The accuracy of prevalence Figs. can be improved by completion of the SPAQ in the summer months, combined with the completion of a depression scale.

Prevalence of seasonal affective disorder in primary care; a comparison of the seasonal health questionnaire and the seasonal pattern assessment questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence rates of SAD suggested by previous studies have ranged from 1 to 12% depending on the diagnostic criteria used. The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ), a widely used screening tool, has been shown to have low specificity for SAD. The Seasonal Health Questionnaire (SHQ) was designed to better reflect the clinical criteria for SAD and has been shown to have a higher specificity then the SPAQ in a psychiatric outpatient setting. OBJECTIVE: The current study was designed to assess the validity of the SHQ in general practice against systematic research interviews, to compare the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values of the SHQ and the SPAQ and to use these data to estimate the prevalence of SAD in primary care. METHODS: 809 subjects in a consecutive series of patients attending Southampton general practices in winter 2000/01 completed the SHQ followed by the SPAQ; 56 were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID). RESULTS: The SHQ was more sensitive and specific than the SPAQ and had higher positive and negative predictive values in screening for SAD. The SPAQ indicated a prevalence of SAD of 10.7% (95% CI 8.6-13.1) while the SHQ provided a significantly lower estimate of 5.6% (95% CI 4.2-7.4).

The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire as a measure of mood seasonality: a prospective validation study.

The aim of this study was to test the validity of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) as a measure of winter pattern seasonality of mood in the general population. The criterion was four repeated measurements of mood, collected in summer and winter each year for 2 years in a longitudinal questionnaire study. To account for the imperfect reliability of SPAQ reports, the SPAQ was completed on two occasions, and aggregate SPAQ variables created. Three variables from the SPAQ were tested for their correlation with prospectively measured lowering of mood in winter: seasonal pattern type, Global Seasonality Score (GSS) and self-reported problems with seasonal variation. The sampling frame was the electoral roll in a suburban region of Melbourne, Australia. Complete four-wave data were obtained from 304 respondents (53.9% female). Seasonal pattern type (self-report as feeling worst in winter months) was the only SPAQ variable to show a significant association with prospectively measured winter pattern seasonality of mood. It is provisionally concluded that the SPAQ can function as a measure of seasonality of mood in the normal population, but that validity has only been confirmed for the relatively gross variable of seasonal pattern type.

Responses to the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire in different seasons.

OBJECTIVE: The study investigated whether results on the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire, which is used for diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder, differed by the season in which the questionnaire was completed. METHOD: Every third month from March 1997 to February 1998, a population-based panel of 200 men and women age 27-72 years in Gamvik, northern Norway, completed a standardized questionnaire that included all items from the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire. RESULTS: The average score for seasonal affective disorder changed over the year. The difference between the highest score, in March, and the lowest, in September, was 8.8%. CONCLUSIONS: Results on the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire varied by season, but did not vary by seasonal differences in the amount of daylight.

Internal consistency of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ).

We examined the consistency reliability of the widely used Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). In total, 587 questionnaires from a random sample of the general population were analysed. The 6 items of the Seasonality Scale Index (SSI) correlated fairly well, and consequently this scale proved to have a high internal consistency (alpha = 0.82). Items from the SSI that measure seasonal variations in sleep and weight were consistent with other SPAQ scales that also measure these dimensions. Since the questionnaires analysed were from an epidemiological study, the high consistency reliability shows that the symptoms probed for by the SSI, tend to cluster in susceptible individuals in the general population.

Validation of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ).

The validity of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) was examined by interviewing 81 individuals who had participated in an earlier community survey of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in Iceland. When SAD and subsyndromal SAD (S-SAD) were combined into a 'winter problem' group, the questionnaire's sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value for that group were 94%, 73% and 45%, respectively. The SPAQ discriminated poorly between SAD and S-SAD, and hence it had a poor case-finding ability for SAD. Clinical evaluation verified a diagnosis of SAD in individuals who had no previous information about this syndrome. The questionnaire furthermore identified a group of individuals who had generalized anxiety and marked seasonal variations. Clinical evaluation arrived at a similar prevalence rate of SAD as the questionnaire.