Are short (blue) wavelengths necessary for light treatment of seasonal affective disorder?
Open accessAbstract
Despite widely published speculation regarding a potential potency advantage of short-wavelength (blue-appearing) light for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) treatment, there have been few systematic studies. Those comparing short-wavelength to broad-wavelength (white) light under actual clinical conditions suggest equivalent effectiveness. This multicenter, parallel-group design trial was undertaken to compare the effects of light therapy on SAD using blue (~465 nm) versus blue-free (595-612 nm) LED lights. Fifty-six medication-free subjects aged 21-64 years who met DSM-IV-TR criteria for recurrent major depression with winter-type seasonal pattern were enrolled in this blinded study at five participating centers between January and March 2012. Thirty-five subjects met the criteria for randomization to 30 min of either blue (~465 nm) or blue-free (595-612 nm) daily morning light therapy. Twenty-nine subjects completed the study; three subjects withdrew due to treatment-related adverse events, including migraines, and three withdrew for non-study-related reasons. The primary effectiveness variable was depression score (SIGH-ADS) after six weeks of daily light treatment. Secondary effectiveness variables included quality-of-life (QoL) and suicidality ratings. Using an intent-to-treat analysis, mean depression scores were different at baseline for the blue group (29 ± 5 versus 26 ± 5, p = 0.05 blue versus blue-free, respectively), and the initial score was used as a covariate. Baseline scores were not significantly different between treatment groups among those who completed the study, and no significant differences in depression scores were observed after 6 weeks (mean ± SD scores at 6 weeks: 5.6 ± 6.1 versus 4.5 ± 5.3, p = 0.74, blue versus blue-free, respectively). In addition, the proportion of subjects who met remission criteria, defined as a depression score ≤8, was not significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.41); among the 29 subjects who completed the study, 76% of subjects experienced remission by the end of the trial, which coincided with the beginning of spring. The QoL and suicidality ratings were also significantly improved from pre- to post-treatment, with no significant difference between treatments. No subject experienced worsening or non-improved symptoms over the 6-week trial. The main finding of this study is that subjects treated with blue light did not improve more than subjects treated with blue-free light; both showed substantial improvement on multiple measures. Failure to find differences may have resulted from methodological constraints, including a small sample size. Recruitment began mid-winter during an unusually mild season, and the trial was terminated earlier than planned by the study sponsor due to a failure to detect a difference. However, if confirmed in a larger randomized sample, these results suggest that blue wavelengths are not necessary for successful SAD treatment.
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Fourteen articles reported effects of various visible light interventions on SIGH-SAD of patients with SAD.
“Fourteen articles[25–36,38,39] reported the effects of various visible light interventions on SIGH-SAD of patients with SAD.”
From Effectiveness of visible light for seasonal affective disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [26]
The Methods (Study Procedures) and Results (SIGH-ADS) show that this article tested visible-light treatments in patients with SAD and reported depression-rating outcomes. It identifies the measure as SIGH-ADS, however, not SIGH-SAD; our copy does not establish that the two names refer to the same measure. The count of fourteen articles is a statement about the citing paper’s group of references, not a finding this individual source could establish. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredEleven included studies accomplished double-blinding for both patients and raters, avoiding performance bias and detection bias.
“Eleven studies accomplished the double-blind procedure for both patients and raters, effectively avoiding performance bias and detection bias.[23,25–27,29,32,35,36,38–40]”
From Effectiveness of visible light for seasonal affective disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [26]
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“In total, three participants (two in the Anderson et al. 2016 and one in the Strong et al. 2009 studies) dropped out prematurely due to side effects related to the study device.”
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- Authors
- Anderson, J. L., St Hilaire, M. A., Auger, R. R., Glod, C. A., Crow, S. J., Rivera, A. N., Fuentes Salgado, S. M., Pullen, S. J., Kaufman, T. K., Selby, A. J., & Wolfe, D. J.
- Affiliations
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Mayo Clinic (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Clinical Trial and Consulting (US)
- Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
- St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center (US)
- St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood (US)
- Corresponding author
- Anderson, J. L.
- Venue
- Chronobiology International
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2016-08-05
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1267-1279
- ISSN
- 0742-0528 (ISSN-L)
- 1525-6073
- PMC
- PMC5292307
- OpenAlex
- W2485144545
- Semantic Scholar
- f0e8b9ddf3e6bd8a8c8125ff4714eecf227baa70
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 1.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Chronobiology International (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Center for Research Resources (NIH 1 UL1 RR025758)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (T32 HL079010)
- Philips Healthcare Solutions (no specific number assigned)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Light effects on plants
- Keywords
- seasonal affective disorder, phototherapy, blue light, short-wavelength light, white light, LED light, major depressive disorder, depression remission, quality of life, suicidality, treatment efficacy comparison, medication-free treatment
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