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Light therapy to treat winter depression in adolescents in Iceland
1National Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ullevål Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Objective:
To determine whether light therapy during winter is beneficial to adolescents with symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Setting:
The 3 largest colleges in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Participants:
Eighteen college students, 18 and 19 years old, suffering from symptoms of SAD.
Outcome Measures:
School attendance and self-reported change in indicators (concentration, ability to awaken in the morning, and frequency of breakfast).
Results:
Light therapy helped some of the students concentrate and wake up in the morning, usually only to a mild degree, but did not improve school attendance.
Conclusions:
The lack of effect of light therapy on school attendance in a group of students with symptoms of SAD indicates that school attendance is influenced by several complex factors, of which seasonal disorders are not a major determinant, even in those most at risk.
