Seasonality of Birth in Seasonal Affective Disorder

Pjrek, Edda; Winkler, Dietmar W.; Heiden, A.; Praschak-Rieder, Nicole; Willeit, Matthäus; Konstantinidis, Anastasios; Stastny, J.; Kasper, Siegfried

doi:10.4088/jcp.v65n1014

Cited by 31 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Surprisingly, only one published study has examined possible season-of-birth effects in SAD. In a large European study, Pjrek et al (2004) found an excess of spring-summer births in SAD patients compared to the general population. A highly novel finding, which has particular relevance to our own work, is that different season-of-birth effects were found depending on vegetative symptoms.…”

Section: Season-of-birth Effectsmentioning

confidence: 95%

A Birth-Season/DRD4 Gene Interaction Predicts Weight Gain and Obesity in Women with Seasonal Affective Disorder: A Seasonal Thrifty Phenotype Hypothesis

Levitan

Masellis

Lam

et al. 2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

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We have recently described an association between the hypofunctional 7-repeat allele (7R) of the dopamine-4 receptor gene (DRD4), weight gain, and obesity in women with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). In the current study, we examined whether season-of-birth might interact with the 7R allele to influence body weight regulation in SAD. In 182 female probands with SAD, we performed an analysis of covariance predicting maximum lifetime body mass index (BMI) with both the exon-3 variable number of tandem repeat polymorphism of DRD4 and season-of-birth as independent variables, and age as the covariate. The overall model was highly significant (F ¼ 4.42, df ¼ 8, 173, po0.0001) with season-of-birth predicting maximal lifetime BMI both on its own and in its interaction with the 7R allele. The latter finding was attributable to 7-repeat carriers born in the spring (N ¼ 17), who had a mean maximal lifetime BMI of 33.7 kg/m 2 (SD 8.6), compared to 26.7 kg/m 2 (SD 5.4) for all other probands combined (N ¼ 165) (F ¼ 20.01, df ¼ 1, 179, po0.0001). The lifetime rate of obesity (maximal BMI 430 kg/m 2 ) was also significantly higher in the 7R/spring birth group (9/17 ¼ 52.9% vs 32/ 165 ¼ 19.4%; w 2 ¼ 9.94, df ¼ 1, p ¼ 0.002; odds ratio ¼ 4.68, 95% CI ¼ 1.67-13.07). These data may reflect a novel gene-environment interaction, during early brain development, which establishes an increased risk for obesity in women with SAD. Although the mechanism for season-of-birth effects in psychiatric disorders is unknown, a characteristic pattern of melatonin exposure during the second and third trimesters may be of particular relevance in this study population. We speculate that these data may reflect the vestigial expression of a seasonal thrifty phenotype that contributed to the positive selection of the 7R allele over the past 40 000 years.

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Section: Season-of-birth Effectsmentioning

confidence: 95%

A Birth-Season/DRD4 Gene Interaction Predicts Weight Gain and Obesity in Women with Seasonal Affective Disorder: A Seasonal Thrifty Phenotype Hypothesis

Levitan

Masellis

Lam

et al. 2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

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“…More specifically, an association between the short allele of the serotonin transporter gene and atypical symptoms [67], and between the 7-repeat variant of the Dopamine-4 Receptor gene and obesity [68], have been found in SAD patients. Season of birth effects may also play a role in this regard [69,70]. Although similar hypotheses in DSM-defined atypical depression have not been tested to date, these data in SAD point to a role for both specific genes and unknown factors tied to birth season in shaping atypical symptomatology.…”

Section: The Pathophysiology Of Atypical De-pressionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Atypical Major Depression - Past, Present, and Future

Levitan

2007

CPSR

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The term "Atypical Depression" refers to a subtype of mood disorder that has been most clearly associated with reversed neurovegetative features and interpersonal deficits such as rejection sensitivity and social avoidance. The most robust clinical correlates of atypical depression include a high preponderance of female cases, an early age of onset, and high rates of chronicity and co-morbidity. Particularly strong links to early adversity and chronic stress have also been described. Regarding treatment outcomes, atypical depression has historically been associated with both MAOI responsiveness and tricyclic resistance, with recent data further suggesting that it is the early onset atypical subgroup that accounts for these findings. There have been few large scale studies of newer anti-depressants such as SSRIs and buproprion in atypical depression, although practical issues have encouraged the use of these agents as first-line treatments. Going forward, high priorities for research include optimizing the definition of atypical depression for DSM-V, more clinical studies with newer anti-depressant classes, and a greater focus on developmentally-based research that considers intergenerational transmission of risk, gene-environment interaction and adverse early environments.

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“…Several psychiatric studies mentioned a higher frequency of winter and spring birth date for patients with schizophrenia and of spring and summer birth date for patients with affective disorders [9,10]. However, this data has not always been confirmed [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Month of Birth, a Risk Factor for Violent Behaviour in Suicidal Patients Admitted in Emergency?

Cailhol

Moraru²,

Barbe³

et al. 2009

Psychiatr Q

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Although there are numerous publications on the existing link between month of birth and suicide, only two studies focus on suicide attempts and auto-aggressive behavior. Research data suggest that month of birth is related to a variation of 5-HIAA in the cerebrospinal fluid, which correlates with violent behavior (VB). Therefore, the aim of this study is to search, for the first time, for a possible link between month of birth and the occurrence of VB in emergency, for patients admitted for a suicide attempt with medication. This is a 10 months prospective study among all the patients of the canton of Geneva, Switzerland, admitted in emergency for a suicide attempt with medication. During a 10 months study period we included 493 patients, of which 77 (15.62%) presented VB. Higher incidence of VB was found in subjects where born at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, with a maximum for April and a minimum for December. In spite of a relatively small number of subjects, it seems promising to study the occurrence of VB as a function of month of birth in patients admitted in emergency for a suicide attempt.

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Seasonality of Birth in Seasonal Affective Disorder

Cited by 31 publications

References 46 publications

A Birth-Season/DRD4 Gene Interaction Predicts Weight Gain and Obesity in Women with Seasonal Affective Disorder: A Seasonal Thrifty Phenotype Hypothesis

A Birth-Season/DRD4 Gene Interaction Predicts Weight Gain and Obesity in Women with Seasonal Affective Disorder: A Seasonal Thrifty Phenotype Hypothesis

Atypical Major Depression - Past, Present, and Future

Month of Birth, a Risk Factor for Violent Behaviour in Suicidal Patients Admitted in Emergency?

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