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Bright light therapy for seasonal affective disorder in Israel (latitude 32.6°N): a single case placebo‐controlled study
Author(s) -
Moscovici L.
Publication year - 2006
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.1600-0447.2006.00844.x
Subject(s) - discontinuation , placebo , light therapy , depression (economics) , anxiety , psychiatry , beck depression inventory , psychology , major depressive disorder , clinical psychology , medicine , mood , alternative medicine , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
We describe a patient diagnosed as having seasonal affective disorder (SAD, winter depression), an unlikely condition in Israel (latitude 32.6°N), a country with relatively minor daylight photoperiodic changes between seasons. Method: Case report. Results: A 46‐year‐old woman with a clinical picture of depression (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnostic criteria for ‘major depression with seasonal pattern’) reacted positively to 3 weeks of daily bright light therapy of 10 000 lux/wide spectrum. She was asked to wear dark sunglasses during placebo sessions to accommodate an A‐B‐C single‐case‐design. The intervention resulted in an improvement of 74–80% in the Hamilton anxiety and depression scales (clinician‐rated) and the Beck depression inventory, similar to results obtained in high latitude regions. The depression and anxiety levels returned close to baseline levels following 1 week of the placebo intervention. Conclusion: Seasonal affective disorder is apparently not limited to certain latitudes. The effect of light therapy was short‐lived after discontinuation of the treatment, with rapid relapse occurring in the placebo phase.