Internet and Psychiatry
  • Home
    • Editorials
    • Research news
    • Research papers
    • Interviews with eminent psychiatrists
    • Ten years ago
    • Fifteen years ago
  • Topics
    • Alcohol and Drug Abuse
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Biomedical Science
    • Compulsive gambling
    • Disaster Medicine
    • Education
    • General Medicine
      • Acupuncture
      • Physical medicine and Rehabilitation
    • Human Rights
    • Interviews with eminent psychiatrists
    • Mood Disorders
      • Bipolar Disorder
      • Depression
      • Seasonal Affective Disorder
    • Neurological Disorders
    • Other Psychiatric Disorders
    • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
    • Sexual Behavior
  • Books
    • Comorbidity of Depression and Alcohol Use Disorders
    • “Immigration and Mental Health” chapter abstracts
    • “Internet and Suicide” chapter abstracts
    • “Neurobiology of PTSD” chapter abstracts
    • “Suicidal Behavior in Alcohol…” chapter abstracts
    • “Suicide in the Military” chapter abstracts
    • “Terror and Suicide” chapter abstracts
    • “War and Suicide” chapter abstracts
  • Editors
    • Leo Sher, M.D.
    • Alexander Vilens, M.S.
  • Guests
    • Distinguished Guests
    • Our Contributors
  • Reflections
    • Poetry
    • Quotes

Seasonal Affective Disorder

The Can-SAD study: a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of light therapy and fluoxetine in patients with winter seasonal affective disorder

October 21, 2009

Lam RW, Levitt AJ, Levitan RD, Enns MW, Morehouse R, Michalak EE, Tam EM.
Mood Disorders Centre, UBC Hospital, 2255 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 2A1.
Am J Psychiatry. 2006 May;163(5):805-12.

OBJECTIVE: Light therapy and antidepressants have shown comparable efficacy in separate studies of seasonal affective disorder treatment, but few studies have directly compared the two treatments. This study compared the effectiveness of light therapy and an antidepressant within a single trial.

METHOD: This double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted in four Canadian centers over three winter seasons. Patients met DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder with a seasonal (winter) pattern and had scores > or = 23 on the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. After a baseline observation week, eligible patients were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of double-blind treatment with either 1) 10,000-lux light treatment and a placebo capsule, or 2) 100-lux light treatment (placebo light) and fluoxetine, 20 mg/day. Light treatment was applied for 30 minutes/day in the morning with a fluorescent white-light box; placebo light boxes used neutral density filters.
RESULTS: A total of 96 patients were randomly assigned to a treatment condition. Intent-to-treat analysis showed overall improvement with time, with no differences between treatments. There were also no differences between the light and fluoxetine treatment groups in clinical response rates (67% for each group) or remission rates (50% and 54%, respectively). Post hoc testing found that light-treated patients had greater improvement at 1 week but not at other time points. Fluoxetine was associated with greater treatment-emergent adverse events (agitation, sleep disturbance, palpitations), but both treatments were generally well-tolerated with no differences in overall number of adverse effects.
CONCLUSIONS: Light treatment showed earlier response onset and lower rate of some adverse events relative to fluoxetine, but there were no other significant differences in outcome between light therapy and antidepressant medication. Although limited by lack of a double-placebo condition, this study supports the effectiveness and tolerability of both treatments for seasonal affective disorder and suggests that other clinical factors, including patient preference, should guide selection of first-line treatment.

Related Posts

Seasonal Affective Disorder /

What is this thing called “SAD”? A critique of the concept of Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder /

Controlled trial of naturalistic dawn simulation and negative air ionization for seasonal affective disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder /

The role of genetic factors in the etiology of seasonal affective disorder and seasonality

‹ A birth-season/DRD4 gene interaction predicts weight gain and obesity in women with seasonal affective disorder: A seasonal thrifty phenotype hypothesis › Association between seasonal affective disorder and the 5-HT2A promoter polymorphism, -1438G/A

Editorials

  • Suicide medical malpractice
  • Dr. Slavko Ziherl, an eminent Slovenian psychiatrist
  • Prevention of suicidal behavior in individuals with diabetes
  • National Respect Day

Research Papers

  • COVID-19 mortality in Europe and the ’Iron Curtain’ between East and West
  • Examination of depressive signs and symptoms among 803 University students in seven Universities and Colleges. Hungary, Romania, Serbia.
  • Examination of spirituality and the dimensions of spirituality among 803 students in seven different Universities. Hungary, Romania and Serbia.
  • Examination of depressive signs and symptoms among 932 students in eight different secondary schools in Hungary

Research News

  • Mortality in patients with schizophrenia: a review and meta-analysis
  • Long COVID, psychiatric disorders and suicidality
  • Mortality rates for buprenorphine versus methadone treatments
  • Brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in combat veterans with or without a history of suicide attempt

Latest News

  • Best universities in the world
  • Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship
  • 2022 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report
  • Long COVID and suicide

Interviews with eminent psychiatrists

  • Interview with Professor Shih-Ku Lin
  • Interview with Professor Masahito Fushimi
  • Interview with Professor Maurizio Pompili
  • Interview with Professor Marco Sarchiapone

Ten Years Ago

  • Plasma testosterone levels in bipolar suicide attempters
  • Teaching medical professionals and trainees about suicide prevention
  • Suicidal ideation in depressed patients with or without comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
  • Treatment of suicide attempters with bipolar disorder: a randomized clinical trial

Back to Top

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Copyright © 2022 AVCalc LLC. All rights reserved worldwide.