Layan Zhang1, Daniel S Evans2, Uttam K Raheja1, Sarah H Stephens3, John W Stiller1, Gloria M Reeves4, Mary Johnson5, Kathleen A Ryan3, Nancy Weizel4, Dipika Vaswani6, Hassan McLain6, Alan R Shuldiner3, Braxton D Mitchell3, Wen-Chi Hsueh7, Soren Snitker3, Teodor T Postolache8. 1. Mood and Anxiety Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Saint Elizabeths Hospital, Psychiatry Residency Training Program, Washington, D.C., USA. 2. California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco, CA, USA. 3. Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. 4. Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry & University of Maryland Child and Adolescent Mental Health Innovations Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. 5. Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. 6. Mood and Anxiety Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. 7. Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Phoenix, AZ, USA. 8. Mood and Anxiety Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; VISN 5 Capitol Health Care Network Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Baltimore, MD, USA; VISN 19 MIRECC, Denver, CO, USA. Electronic address: teopostolache@gmail.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Several studies documented that lower scores on the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) are associated with a higher global seasonality of mood (GSS). As for the Modern Man artificial lighting predominantly extends evening activity and exposure to light, and as evening bright light phase is known to delay circadian rhythms, this chronic exposure could potentially lead to both lower Morningness as well as higher GSS. The aim of the study was to investigate if the MEQ-GSS relationship holds in the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, PA, a population that does not use network electrical light. METHODS: 489 Old Order Amish adults (47.6% women), with average (SD) age of 49.7 (14.2) years, completed both the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) for the assessment of GSS, and MEQ. Associations between GSS scores and MEQ scores were analyzed using linear models, accounting for age, gender and relatedness by including the relationship matrix in the model as a random effect. RESULTS: GSS was inversely associated with MEQ scores (p=0.006, adjusted). LIMITATIONS: include a potential recall bias associated with self-report questionnaires and no actual light exposure measurements. CONCLUSION: We confirmed the previously reported inverse association between MEQ scores and lower seasonality of mood, for the first time in a population that does not use home network electrical lighting. This result suggests that the association is not a byproduct of exposure to network electric light, and calls for additional research to investigate mechanisms by which Morningness is negatively associated with seasonality. Published by Elsevier B.V.
BACKGROUND: Several studies documented that lower scores on the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) are associated with a higher global seasonality of mood (GSS). As for the Modern Man artificial lighting predominantly extends evening activity and exposure to light, and as evening bright light phase is known to delay circadian rhythms, this chronic exposure could potentially lead to both lower Morningness as well as higher GSS. The aim of the study was to investigate if the MEQ-GSS relationship holds in the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, PA, a population that does not use network electrical light. METHODS: 489 Old Order Amish adults (47.6% women), with average (SD) age of 49.7 (14.2) years, completed both the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) for the assessment of GSS, and MEQ. Associations between GSS scores and MEQ scores were analyzed using linear models, accounting for age, gender and relatedness by including the relationship matrix in the model as a random effect. RESULTS:GSS was inversely associated with MEQ scores (p=0.006, adjusted). LIMITATIONS: include a potential recall bias associated with self-report questionnaires and no actual light exposure measurements. CONCLUSION: We confirmed the previously reported inverse association between MEQ scores and lower seasonality of mood, for the first time in a population that does not use home network electrical lighting. This result suggests that the association is not a byproduct of exposure to network electric light, and calls for additional research to investigate mechanisms by which Morningness is negatively associated with seasonality. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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