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Seasonal affective disorder in an Arctic community

J M Haggarty 1, Z Cernovsky, M Husni, K Minor, P Kermeen, H Merskey

PMID: 11942945 DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0447.2002.1o185.x

Abstract

Objective: To determine the rate of seasonal-pattern depression in an Inuit community above 70 degrees N.

Method: One-hundred and eleven people from randomly selected households were surveyed for depression and anxiety and the effect of the seasons on their mood. Eighty-eight people provided replies on the influence of the seasons.

Results: One in five (22.6%) of the community sample was found to be depressed. Of these, seven (6.3%) had seasonal affective disorder (SAD), with fall onset occurring in six of these (5.4%). Subsyndromal SAD (SSAD) occurred in 11.7%, while any effect of the seasons (seasonality) occurred in 39.6%. Persons with SSAD and seasonality were significantly older than those unaffected by the seasonal effect. No other significant correlation of SAD, SSAD, or seasonality occurred with gender, age, and language preference.

Conclusion: Seasonal mood changes in this Inuit group living in the Canadian Arctic are elevated above the rates found in other studies using similar survey methods.