SynthesisEpidemiology and psychiatric sciences2019
Seasonality and symptoms of depression: A systematic review of the literature.
Synthesis in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
68 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Climate change and suicide epidemiology: a systematic review and meta-analysis of gender variations in global suicide rates.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Mobile App-Based Tracking of Daily Explicit and Implicit Sense of Agency Among Adults Living in Japan: Longitudinal Observational Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Observational
- Seasonal patterns of long sickness absence due to 411 diagnostic groups: a nationwide register-based study in Finland during 2020-2023.Scandinavian journal of public health · 2026Article
- Health-related quality of life in parents of adolescents in 2019, 2021 and 2023.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Psychometric Validity of the CES-D Scale for Assessing Depressive Symptoms in University Students in Bogotá. Colombia.International journal of methods in psychiatric research · 2026Article
- Monthly changes in well-being among Danish employees from 2018 to 2022. Was there an influence of the COVID-19 pandemic?Scandinavian journal of public health · 2026Article
- Promoting Well-Being in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Effects of a Creative-Dance-Mediated Psychomotor Intervention on Life Satisfaction and Affect.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2026Article
- Seasonal surge for mental health demand in the emergency department of Eradah complex for mental health in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia: a retrospective study.The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association · 2026Article
- Health-Related Quality of Life Among Food Bank Users in Spain: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Sunshine duration and episodes of mental disorders and the inverse effect modification by ambient temperature.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Chronic nature exposure does not moderate affective and attentional effects of acute nature exposure.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- How colors of the living street interfaces affect positive emotions in winter.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Compositional Associations of 24-h Movement Behaviors With Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Middle-Aged Adults.Depression and anxiety · 2026Article
- Depression and Associated Factors Among Perimenopausal Women: A Cross-Sectional Study in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- Seasonal differences in depressive affect, worry-related sleep disturbance, and low energy among UK young people.PloS one · 2026Article
- A few degrees, a lot more stress: Associations between room temperature and reactivity to psychosocial stress.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Article
- Seasonal biological social and cognitive mechanisms of mental health among Chinese adolescents.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Association between weather features and symptoms in hand osteoarthritis: Results from the DIGICOD cohort.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2025Article
8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsLay opinions and published papers alike suggest mood varies with the seasons, commonly framed as higher rates of depression mood in winter. Memory and confirmation bias may have influenced previous studies. We therefore systematically searched for and reviewed studies on the topic, but excluded study designs where explicit referrals to seasonality were included in questions, interviews or data collection.
methodsSystematic literature search in Cochrane database, DARE, Medline, Embase, PsychINFO and CINAHL, reporting according to the PRISMA framework, and study quality assessment using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Two authors independently assessed each study for inclusion and quality assessment. Due to large heterogeneity, we used a descriptive review of the studies.
resultsAmong the 41 included studies, there was great heterogeneity in regards to included symptoms and disorder definitions, operationalisation and measurement. We also observed important heterogeneity in how definitions of 'seasons' as well as study design, reporting and quality. This heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis and publication bias analysis. Thirteen of the studies suggested more depression in winter. The remaining studies suggested no seasonal pattern, seasonality outside winter, or inconclusive results.
conclusionsThe results of this review suggest that the research field of seasonal variations in mood disorders is fragmented, and important questions remain unanswered. There is some support for seasonal variation in clinical depression, but our results contest a general population shift towards lower mood and more sub-threshold symptoms at regular intervals throughout the year. We suggest future research on this issue should be aware of potential bias by design and take into account other biological and behavioural seasonal changes that may nullify or exacerbate any impact on mood.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.