Risk factors and treatment approaches to seasonal affective disorder: a review

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression which emerges seasonally, in winter or summer. This condition affects 1-2% of the general population; however, in regions more than 30 degrees of the equator, a higher proportion (10-20%) of people suffer from SAD. There is a milder form of...

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Main Authors: V. Jurgaitytė, N. Khawaja, J. Dijokas, P. Rimkevičiūtė
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Vilnius University Press 2020-03-01
Series:Neurologijos seminarai
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.journals.vu.lt/neurologijos_seminarai/article/view/27758
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author V. Jurgaitytė
N. Khawaja
J. Dijokas
P. Rimkevičiūtė
author_facet V. Jurgaitytė
N. Khawaja
J. Dijokas
P. Rimkevičiūtė
author_sort V. Jurgaitytė
collection DOAJ
description Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression which emerges seasonally, in winter or summer. This condition affects 1-2% of the general population; however, in regions more than 30 degrees of the equator, a higher proportion (10-20%) of people suffer from SAD. There is a milder form of SAD, subsyndromal SAD (S-SAD), which is known as “winter blues”. Besides environmental risk factors, such as day length and sunlight exposure, genetics and neurochemical changes in the brain also play a role in SAD patients showing that this disorder is heterogeneous. Imbalances in the circadian rhythm and dysregulation of neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine) have been identified as risk factors for symptomatic SAD. SAD symptoms can be diminished by bright light therapy, regulating patients’ circadian rhythms, and cognitive-behavioural therapy, which more indirectly focuses on alleviating depressive symptoms by allowing patients to actively manage how they perceive stress and anxiety. The paper compares effectiveness and safety of treatment methods against SAD.
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publishDate 2020-03-01
publisher Vilnius University Press
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series Neurologijos seminarai
spelling doaj-art-c427236b59db4ea3bba968626434fdea2025-01-20T18:22:50ZengVilnius University PressNeurologijos seminarai1392-30642424-59172020-03-01241(83)10.29014/ns.2020.03Risk factors and treatment approaches to seasonal affective disorder: a reviewV. Jurgaitytė 0N. Khawaja 1J. Dijokas 2P. Rimkevičiūtė 3University College London, UKUniversity College London, UKVilnius lyceum, LithuaniaVilnius University, Lithuania Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression which emerges seasonally, in winter or summer. This condition affects 1-2% of the general population; however, in regions more than 30 degrees of the equator, a higher proportion (10-20%) of people suffer from SAD. There is a milder form of SAD, subsyndromal SAD (S-SAD), which is known as “winter blues”. Besides environmental risk factors, such as day length and sunlight exposure, genetics and neurochemical changes in the brain also play a role in SAD patients showing that this disorder is heterogeneous. Imbalances in the circadian rhythm and dysregulation of neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine) have been identified as risk factors for symptomatic SAD. SAD symptoms can be diminished by bright light therapy, regulating patients’ circadian rhythms, and cognitive-behavioural therapy, which more indirectly focuses on alleviating depressive symptoms by allowing patients to actively manage how they perceive stress and anxiety. The paper compares effectiveness and safety of treatment methods against SAD. https://www.journals.vu.lt/neurologijos_seminarai/article/view/27758seasonal affective disorderseasonal depressionsubsyndromal seasonal affective disorderbright light therapycognitive behavioural therapy
spellingShingle V. Jurgaitytė
N. Khawaja
J. Dijokas
P. Rimkevičiūtė
Risk factors and treatment approaches to seasonal affective disorder: a review
Neurologijos seminarai
seasonal affective disorder
seasonal depression
subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder
bright light therapy
cognitive behavioural therapy
title Risk factors and treatment approaches to seasonal affective disorder: a review
title_full Risk factors and treatment approaches to seasonal affective disorder: a review
title_fullStr Risk factors and treatment approaches to seasonal affective disorder: a review
title_full_unstemmed Risk factors and treatment approaches to seasonal affective disorder: a review
title_short Risk factors and treatment approaches to seasonal affective disorder: a review
title_sort risk factors and treatment approaches to seasonal affective disorder a review
topic seasonal affective disorder
seasonal depression
subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder
bright light therapy
cognitive behavioural therapy
url https://www.journals.vu.lt/neurologijos_seminarai/article/view/27758
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AT nkhawaja riskfactorsandtreatmentapproachestoseasonalaffectivedisorderareview
AT jdijokas riskfactorsandtreatmentapproachestoseasonalaffectivedisorderareview
AT primkeviciute riskfactorsandtreatmentapproachestoseasonalaffectivedisorderareview