Association between seasonal affective disorder and subjective quality of the sleep/wake cycle in adolescents

The relationship between seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and subjective quality of sleep/wake cycle in adolescents was explored. The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (SPAQ-CA) and Mini Sleep Questionnaire (MSQ) were administered to 345 adolescents living in the city of Cesena (Emilia-Romagna region, Italy) (299 females; age range: 14-18 years), to determine SAD and perceived quality of the sleep/wake cycle. The response rate was 92% for females and 90.2% for males. The MSQ includes two factors, sleep and wake, with lower scores corresponding to a lower quality of sleep and wake. The MSQ includes cut-off criteria to detect a good or bad sleep and wake quality. Adolescents with SAD (16±5.7) scored significantly lower than those not affected on wake factor (19.5±4.3), while no effect has been observed on sleep factor. SAD was the only one significant predictor of good/bad wake quality, while it did not reach significant level with reference to good/bad sleep quality. Present results are indications of a possible influence of SAD on wake quality and further studies are necessary to confirm them.