title: Seasonal variations in mood and behavior in the general population: a factor-analytic approach.
abstract: In a mailed survey conducted at four centers--Nashua, NH; New York, NY; Washington, DC; and Sarasota, FL--1,671 respondents provided information on monthly variations in 10 behavioral categories representing extremes in the areas of mood, socializing, appetite, weight gain/loss, and sleep length. A 10-factor solution revealed the following factors: (1) a winter weight gain factor; (2) a winter depression factor; (3) a winter hypersomnia factor; (4) a summer weight gain factor; (5) a summer hypersomnia factor; (6) a summer depression factor; (7) a winter socializing factor; (8) a winter weight loss factor; (9) a fall depression factor; and (10) a possibly mixed factor. Factors consistent with winter seasonal affective disorder were positively correlated with latitude, while those consistent with summer seasonal affective disorder were negatively correlated with latitude.
authors.affiliation: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Department of Military Psychiatry, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003625:Data Collection; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016574:Seasonal Affective Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012621:Seasons; D012890:Sleep; D013997:Time Factors