Background: Aside from the concept of seasonal affective disorder, the evidence for a seasonal pattern (SP) of major depressive disorder (MDD) is controversial. Furthermore, the effect of sex and age is still unclear.
Methods: This is a nationwide, registry-based study assessing all inpatient admissions in mental health hospitals due to MDD episodes according to ICD-10 (moderate (F32/33.1), severe (F32/33.2) and severe with psychotic features (F32/33.3)) in Austria across 14 years. Calculations were based on deviations from expected monthly admissions.
Results: The sample comprised 231,824 hospitalisations (36.8% men) for MDD. A significant SP (p=0.001) in moderate and severe depressive episodes in both women and men with decreased admission rates in the summer months and December was detected. In psychotic depression a significant SP was only evidenced in women (p = 0.002, men: p = 0.291). Patients older than 55 years had a reduced SP compared to those being younger.
Limitations: Only anonymised admission data of inpatient treatments were available. Hospitalization rates cannot fully be equated to the occurrence of MDD.
Conclusions: The current study indicates a seasonal variation in MDD symptoms that may go beyond seasonal affective disorder. Knowledge about the predictability of depressive symptoms in patients should encourage preventive strategies.
Keywords: Age; Hospitalisation; Major Depressive Disorder; Seasonal variation; Sex characteristics.
Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.