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Mental distress during winter. An epidemiologic study of 7759 adults north of Arctic Circle
Author(s) -
Hansen V.,
Jacobsen B. K.,
Husby R.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1991.tb03117.x
Subject(s) - distress , arctic , mental distress , psychiatry , the arctic , psychology , epidemiology , mental health , medicine , environmental health , gerontology , clinical psychology , oceanography , ecology , biology , geology
The prevalence of mental distress in a general population north of the Arctic Circle at 69°N was studied over 4 midwinter months. Within the framework of a health survey for coronary heart disease. 3 questions about depression, coping problems and insomnia were posed. They were answered by 7759 people randomly assigned to a survey date from November to February. The extreme lack of daylight in December and January taken into consideration, the prevalence of mental distress found, 14% in men and 19% in women, is remarkably low compared with previous epidemiologic research. Except for insomnia in women, which was most prevalent in December, no significant relationship between month of survey and any of the 3 symptoms were found. Thus, the findings cast some doubt upon the importance of daylight for mental distress in the general population.