Environmental Treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Not Applicable

Completed

Interventions: Device: Litebook treatment devices
Device: Inactivated negative ion generator

Brief Summary: The purpose is to study treatments of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Detailed Description: This is a multicenter, randomized controlled trial of negative ion generation versus light-emitting diode phototherapy for seasonal affective disorder. Participants appropriate for the study are subjects with a DSM IV diagnosis of Major Depression, with seasonal pattern, winter type. Subjects were seen at Yale University,New Haven,CT University of British Columbia,Vancouver,BC Groningen University Hospital,Groningen, The Netherlands, Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa,Ontario, McGill University, Montreal,Quebec, University Hospital,Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The trial is 4 weeks in duration.

This trial has now been completed.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Subjects meet DSM-IV criteria for major depressive episodes with a seasonal pattern, winter type.

Exclusion Criteria

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
LED phototherapy device	Litebook treatment devices	Litebook treatment devices: LED phototherapy device, used for 30 min before 8 am
Inactivated Negative Ion Generator	Inactivated negative ion generator	Equivalent exposure to inactivated negative ion generator

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Percentage SIGH SAD (Structured Interview Guide For The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale), SAD Version	Week 4	SIGH SAD Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)version. The items are augmented with additional items to reflect better the atypical depressive symptoms usually seen in SAD, eg, increased sleep, weight, appetite and fatigue. On this scale, higher scores reflect increased depression intensity. The maximum score attainable is 63, and the minimum is 0. A score of less than 9 is regarded as consistent with normal mood, the absence of major depression. Calculated: SIGH SAD score at trial end x 100 / SIGH SAD score at randomization

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
SIGH SAD (Structured Interview Guide For The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale), SAD Version	Weekly following randomization	SIGH SAD Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, SIGH SAD Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)version. This is a structured interview, which is an interview in which the clinician is provided exact questions to use to inquire about symptoms of depression and explicit standards for rating the intensity of each symptom item. The interview assesses the symptoms which make up the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, which is the standard in the majority of clinical trials in depression. The items are augmented with additional items to reflect better the atypical depressive symptoms usually seen in SAD, eg, increased sleep, weight, appetite and fatigue. On this scale, higher scores reflect increased depression intensity. The maximum score attainable is 63, and the minimum is 0. A score of less than 9 is regarded as consistent with normal mood, the absence of major depression.

Locations (5): Douglas Hospital Research Centre
🇨🇦
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
University Medical Center Groningen
🇳🇱
Groningen, RB, Netherlands
University of British Columbia
🇨🇦
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Yale University School of Medicine
🇺🇸
New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, , Ontario, K1Z 7K4 Canada
🇨🇦
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada