Summer mood in winter depressives: validation of a structured interview

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Mood Disorders
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) involves recurrent mood episodes tied to seasons.
• Distinguishing between hypomania, euthymia, and hyperthymia is crucial for accurate diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the Hypomania Interview Guide (Including Hyperthymia) for Seasonal Affective Disorder (HIGH-SAD) and its retrospective version (HIGH-R).
• To assess the instruments' ability to differentiate nondepressed mood states in patients with Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) with Seasonal Pattern, and in healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Two structured interviews, HIGH-SAD and HIGH-R, were used to assess DSM and non-DSM features of mood states.
• Internal consistency and classification accuracy were evaluated in patients with recurrent bipolar disorder, unipolar MDD (both with Seasonal Pattern), and normal controls.

Main Results:

• Both HIGH-SAD and HIGH-R demonstrated high internal consistency.
• Total scores effectively classified 85-91% of patients into unipolar or bipolar groups, with normal controls scoring lowest, followed by unipolar, then bipolar patients.
• MDD patients were subcategorized into euthymes, hyperthymes, and high-hyperthymes based on scores.

Conclusions:

• The HIGH-R and HIGH-SAD are reliable tools for assessing and discriminating hypomanic and manic states in bipolar disorder, and hyperthymic states in unipolar MDD.
• These instruments aid in classifying seasonal affective disorder subtypes and understanding mood spectrum variations.