Campus Life

The Medical Minute: Seasonal Affective Disorder is More than 'Sad'

People who have been feeling blue ever since the holidays ended or "down" from early nights might have seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, a form of depression that begins in fall or winter. According to the latest edition of the Medical Minute, a service of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, symptoms of SAD are similar to other forms of depression: low energy, problems concentrating, reduced interest in daily activities, moodiness, increased or decreased appetite, weakness and increased sleeping. Typically, the problem resolves in early spring. SAD is more common the farther one lives from the equator -- the rate of incidence is less than 2 percent in Florida residents and almost 10 percent in New Hampshire. Researchers suspect there is a genetic predisposition -- although studies to date are inconclusive. The features of SAD overlap with other medical illnesses, so a doctor's evaluation is needed for proper diagnosis and treatment. For the full Medical Minute, visit http://www.psu.edu/ur/2003/medicalminuteindex03.html

Last Updated March 19, 2009