Prevention of seasonal affective disorder in daily clinical practice: results of a survey in German-speaking countries

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

E. Pjrek¹  M. Spies¹  S. Kasper¹  D. Winkler¹  B. Nussbaumer-Streit² 

[1] Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18–20, 1090, Vienna, Austria;Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18–20, 1090, Vienna, Austria;Department for Evidence-based Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, Danube-University Krems, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek Strasse 30, 3500, Krems a.d. Donau, Austria;

关键词: Seasonal affective disorder;    Winter depression;    Prevention;    Austria;    Germany;    Switzerland;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12888-017-1403-2

 received in 2017-03-02, accepted in 2017-06-27,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSeasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a seasonally recurrent type of major depression. This predictable aspect makes it promising for preventive treatment. However, evidence for the efficacy and harm of preventive treatment of SAD is scarce, as are recommendations from clinical practice guidelines. The aim of this study was to assess the current use of preventive treatment of SAD in clinical practice in German-speaking countries for the first time.MethodsWe conducted a postal and web-based survey sent to the heads of all psychiatric institutions listed in the inventory “Deutsches Krankenhaus Adressbuch, 2015” that contains all psychiatric hospitals in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.ResultsOne hundred institutions (out of 533 institutions, 19%), which treated in total more than 3100 SAD patients in the years 2014/2015, responded. Of those, 81 reported recommending preventive treatment to patients with a history of SAD. There was no consensus on the optimal starting point for preventive treatment. Most of the institutions that implemented prevention of SAD, recommended lifestyle changes (85%), antidepressants (84%), psychotherapy (73%), and light therapy (72%) to their patients. The situation was similar in northern and southern regions.ConclusionsMost hospitals recommended the use of preventive treatment to SAD patients, although evidence on efficacy and harm is limited. A wide variety of interventions were recommended, although guidelines only include recommendations for acute treatment. To assist psychiatrists and patients in future decision making, controlled studies on preventive treatment for SAD that compare different interventions with one another are needed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017