Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40335946›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2025

Evaluation of seasonal variations for the seasonal pattern assessment in mood disorder patients and healthy controls.

Chiao-Erh Chang, Hsi-Chung Chen, I-Ming Chen, Cheng-Dien Hsu, Chih-Ming Liu, Chun-Hsin Chen, Tsung-Yang Wang, Wen-Yin Chen, Shiau-Shian Huang, Yen-Chih Chen and 1 more

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Article in BMC psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Chiao-Erh ChangDepartment of Public Health & Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Hsi-Chung ChenDepartment of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
I-Ming ChenDepartment of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Cheng-Dien HsuDepartment of Psychiatry, Adventist Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chih-Ming LiuDepartment of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chun-Hsin ChenDepartment of Psychiatry, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Tsung-Yang WangDepartment of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Wen-Yin ChenTaipei City Psychiatric Center, Taipei City Hospital, Songde Branch, Taipei, Taiwan.
Shiau-Shian HuangDepartment of Medical Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yen-Chih ChenDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Po-Hsiu KuoDepartment of Public Health & Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. phkuo@ntu.edu.tw.

Funding

National Health Research Institutes NHRI-EX106-10627NINational Science and Technology Council MST 105-2628-B-002-028-MY3National Taiwan University 109L7860Tapei City Hospital TPCH-110-62
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSeasonal disturbances were common in mood disorders patients. The global seasonality score (GSS), derived from the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ), was widely used to assess seasonality and related symptoms. This study aimed to establish the structure of the Chinese version of SPAQ. We examined the stability of seasonal pattern assessment across four seasons when administering SPAQ. The prevalence of seasonal affective disorder was estimated using SPAQ criteria.

methodsWe recruited 596 mood disorder patients and 138 healthy controls (HC), with 121 patients and 37 HC followed up over four seasons. An exploratory factor analysis examined the GSS factor structure. We evaluated correlations between GSS symptom dimensions and "the degree of problems due to seasonal changes" and used intraclass correlation coefficient reliability (ICCR) to assess the consistency of symptom dimensions across seasons.

resultsApproximately a quarter of mood disorder patients met the criteria for seasonal affective disorder. The Chinese SPAQ revealed a two-factor structure: psychological and food-related symptoms among patients. The GSS showed a significant correlation (r = 0.64) with the degree of problems due to seasonal changes in mood disorder patients, while energy level and sleep significantly correlated with GSS (r > 0.75) in HC. Reporting reliability (ICCR > 0.4) was acceptable for GSS and mood/energy levels in patients across seasons.

conclusionsSeasonal variations were observed in reporting the symptom dimensions of the seasonal pattern assessment, while the GSS remained relatively stable in both mood disorder patients and HC. SPAQ is a useful tool for measuring seasonality, irrespective of the season of administration.

Indexed as

Mood DisordersSeasonal Affective DisorderSeasonsSurveys and QuestionnairesSymptom AssessmentAdultCase-Control StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesEast Asian PeopleFactor Analysis, StatisticalFemaleHumansLanguageLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedBipolar disorderMajor depressive disorderSeasonal affective disorderSeasonal patternSeasonal pattern assessment questionnaire

Identifiers

PMID40335946
PMCPMC12057076

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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.