Seasonal changes in mood and behavior. The role of genetic factors.
Arch Gen Psychiatry
; 53(1): 47-55, 1996 Jan.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-8540777
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Seasonal rhythms in mood and behavior (seasonality) have been reported to occur in the general population. Seasonal affective disorder, a clinically diagnosed syndrome, is believed to represent the morbid extreme of a spectrum of seasonality. Two types of seasonality have been clinically described one characterized by a winter pattern and a second by a summer pattern of depressive mood disturbance.METHODS:
By using methods of univariate and multivariate genetic analysis, we examined the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the risk of seasonality symptoms that were assessed by a mailed questionnaire of 4639 adult twins from a volunteer-based registry in Australia.RESULTS:
Seasonality was associated with a winter rather than a summer pattern of mood and behavioral change. In each behavioral domain (ie, mood, energy, social activity, sleep, appetite, and weight), a significant genetic influence on the reporting of seasonal changes was found. Consistent with the hypothesis of a seasonal syndrome, genetic effects were found to exert a global influence across all behavioral changes, accounting for at least 29% of the variance in seasonality in men and women.CONCLUSIONS:
There is a tendency for seasonal changes in mood and behavior to run in families, especially seasonality of the winter type, and this is largely due to a biological predisposition. These findings support continuing efforts to understand the role of seasonality in the development of mood disorders.
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Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Trastorno Afectivo Estacional
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
Límite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Arch Gen Psychiatry
Año:
1996
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos