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Meteorological analysis of symptom data for people with seasonal affective disorder.
Open accessAbstract
It is thought that variation in natural light levels affect people with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Several meteorological factors related to luminance can be forecast but little is known about which factors are most indicative of worsening SAD symptoms. The aim of this meteorological analysis is to determine which factors are linked to SAD symptoms. The symptoms of 291 individuals with SAD in and near Groningen have been evaluated over the period 2003-2009. Meteorological factors linked to periods of low natural light (sunshine, global radiation, horizontal visibility, cloud cover and mist) and others (temperature, humidity and pressure) were obtained from weather observation stations. A Bayesian zero adjusted auto-correlated multilevel Poisson model was carried out to assess which variables influence the SAD symptom score BDI-II. The outcome of the study suggests that the variable sunshine duration, for both the current and previous week, and global radiation for the previous week, are significantly linked to SAD symptoms.
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Seasonal affective disorder is believed to be related to disruptions in circadian rhythms, alterations in the conversion of melatonin, serotonin, and other neurotransmitter systems, and reduced exposure to natural sunlight.
“SAD is believed to be related to disruptions in circadian rhythms,[5] alterations in the conversion of melatonin, serotonin, and other neurotransmitter systems,[6] as well as reduced exposure to natural sunlight.[7]”
From Effectiveness of visible light for seasonal affective disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [7]
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“The disorder is widely associated with reduced availability of natural light during the winter months and decreased outdoor activity, a phenomenon that could likewise be connected to sky exposure (Sarran et al., 2017; Fonte and Coutinho, 2021).”
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“Most of the existing literature is on the influence of sunlight exposure on symptoms of depression, 8,18–20, 24 while only one prior study has investigated the use of psychotropic medications , Another reason might be that the studied medications might have been used for purposes other than…”
Herbuela, V. R. D. M., Karita, T., Toya, A., Furukawa, Y., Senba, S., Onishi, E., & Saeki, T. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1235582
Metadata
- Authors
- Sarran, C., Albers, C., Sachon, P., & Meesters, Y.
- Affiliations
- Met Office (GB)
- University of Groningen (NL)
- University Medical Center Groningen (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Sarran, Christophe
- Venue
- Psychiatry Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-11
- Volume
- 257
- Pages
- 501-505
- ISSN
- 0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2749183269
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 1.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Psychiatry Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut
- Medical Research Council (MR/K019341/1)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Climate Change and Health Impacts
- Keywords
- seasonal affective disorder, meteorological factors, sunshine duration, global radiation, Beck Depression Inventory-II, cloud cover, mist, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Bayes Theorem, Female, Humans, Male, Sunlight, Time Factors, Weather, Poisson Distribution, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Symptom Assessment
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