Seasonal Affective Disorders: A Case Study

While researching and analyzing the various methods of investigations that were used, from case studies to specific statistics and experiments. The studies analyzed for research, focused on the effect of Seasonal Affective Disorder at four different longitudinal places within the United States, comparing the prevalence of the disorder at each of the different locations. For example, one of the studies researched focuses on the state of Alaska and how prevalent Seasonal Affective Disorder is. Another study that is investigated is the prevalence of Seasonal Affective Disorder at four different longitudes across the United States. It was found that Winter Seasonal Affective Disorder and Subsyndromal Seasonal Affective Disorder had a direct correlation

According to the Mayo Clinic, Seasonal Affective disorder is a mood disorder that causes depression during the change and transitions of the seasons. It is sometimes called the “winter blues,” but this depression occurs at the same time every year. The most common type of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is Winter SAD. This is when the feeling of depression only occurs during the transition between fall and winter. The Subsyndromal SAD is similar to Winter Seasonal Affective Disorder by having the same symptoms, but it is less mild than Winter Seasonal Affective Disorder. As for the Summer Seasonal Affective Disorder, this is when the depressive symptoms occur during the transition between spring and summer, when the weather becomes hotter and the days have more sunlight exposure. Based off of a study done by McGeehin, during the summer months in places like the midwest, where summer temperatures are extremely high, if there is an increase in temperature and heat, there is then an increase in mortality in the United States. Even though there is an increase in death during the hotter, summer months, the cold, winter months still has a higher rate of deaths overall, compared to the hot summer