Don’t blame winter for that bleak mood
Incidence and severity of major depression not linked to changes in season
By Bruce Bower
Winter doesn’t deserve its dour reputation as the season of depression, scientists say.
Rates of major depression, a psychiatric condition marked by intense sadness, hopelessness, insomnia and a general loss of interest or pleasure, don’t markedly change from one season to another among U.S. adults, says a team led by psychologist Steven LoBello of Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama. Neither do symptoms intensify or become more numerous during winter among those already suffering from depression, the researchers report online January 19 in Clinical Psychological Science.