Potential Relationship between Season of Birth and Clinical Characteristics in Major Depressive Disorder in Koreans: Results from the CRESCEND Study

Abstract

We aimed to examine the potential relationship between season of birth (SOB) and clinical characteristics in Korean patients with unipolar non-psychotic major depressive disorder (MDD). Using data from the Clinical Research Center for Depression (CRESCEND) study in South Korea, 891 MDD patients were divided into two groups, those born in spring/summer (n=457) and those born in autumn/winter (n=434). Measurement tools comprising the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Scale for Suicidal Ideation, Clinical Global Impression of severity, Social and Occupation Functional Assessment Scale, WHO Quality of Life assessment instrument-abbreviated version, Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, and Temperament and Character Inventory were used to evaluate depression, anxiety, overall symptoms, suicidal ideation, global severity, social function, quality of life, drinking, and temperament and character, respectively. Using independent t-tests for continuous variables and χ2 tests for discrete variables, the clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared. MDD patients born in spring/summer were on average younger at onset of first depressive episode (t=2.084, p=0.038), had greater loss of concentration (χ2=4.589, p=0.032), and were more self-directed (t=2.256, p=0.025) than those born in autumn/winter. Clinically, there was a trend for the MDD patients born in spring/summer to display the contradictory characteristics of more severe clinical course and less illness burden; this may have been partly due to a paradoxical effect of the 5-HT system.

Birth Month and Course of Recurrent Depressive Disorders in a Polish Population

“…Similar observations were described by Park et al [ 27 ], who examined 891 patients from South Korea treated for unipolar non-psychotic major depressive disorders (MDD). The patients were divided into 2 groups: those born in spring/summer (n=457) and those born in autumn/winter (n=434).…”

Photoperiod during maternal pregnancy and lifetime depression in offspring

“…In humans, epidemiologic studies have evaluated birth season (a proxy for light exposure) in relation to depression, with older studies indicating that individuals whose mother’s pregnancy spanned summer months (i.e., longer photoperiods) may be at modestly lower risk of depression in adulthood (Disanto et al, 2012; Joiner et al, 2002; Pfaff et al, 2006; Torrey et al, 1996). Yet, two recent studies have yielded equivocal results (Park et al, 2016; Talarowska et al, 2018), and another recent study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) found no association between birth season and depression among birth cohorts after 1930 (Schnittker, 2018). Interestingly, the NHANES study also reported that participants born at higher latitudes had significantly less depression compared with those born at lower latitudes, although these results were not discussed in detail and there were no joint effects of birth season and birth latitude identified for depression.…”

“…In humans, recent epidemiologic studies of birth season and depression have produced less consistent evidence of an association compared to older studies (Park et al, 2016; Schnittker, 2018; Talarowska et al, 2018), and the vast majority of studies have ignored the potential influence of birth latitude (Disanto et al, 2012; Foster and Roenneberg, 2008; Joiner et al, 2002; Pfaff et al, 2006; Torrey et al, 1997; Torrey et al, 1996). Indeed, there has been a specific call to evaluate the combined effects of birth season and birth latitude in relation to psychiatric disorders in large epidemiologic studies (Erren et al, 2012).…”

Season of birth: A predictor of ADHD symptoms in early midlife

“…Season of birth may represent a significant environmental factor for ADHD. Some investigators have found that season of birth is associated with life-long psychiatric illnesses, including, notably, schizophrenia (Videbech et al, 1974; Bradbury and Miller, 1985; Boyd et al, 1986; Mortensen et al, 1999; Parker et al, 2000; Pedersen and Mortensen, 2001; Davies, et al, 2003; Tochigi et al, 2004; Demler, 2011), substance dependence (Kell, 1995; Levine and Wojcik, 1999; Goldberg and Newlin, 2000; Riala et al, 2009), and depression (Jewell et al, 2010; Park et al, 2016). Most of these studies found that on average, individuals born in the winter or the spring (December – May) are more likely to have later psychiatric illnesses.…”