TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing seasonal and weather effects on depression and physical activity using mobile health data
AU - RADAR-CNS Consortium
AU - Zhang, Yuezhou
AU - Folarin, Amos A
AU - Ranjan, Yatharth
AU - Cummins, Nicholas
AU - Rashid, Zulqarnain
AU - Conde, Pauline
AU - Stewart, Callum
AU - Sun, Shaoxiong
AU - Vairavan, Srinivasan
AU - Matcham, Faith
AU - Oetzmann, Carolin
AU - Siddi, Sara
AU - Lamers, Femke
AU - Simblett, Sara
AU - Wykes, Til
AU - Mohr, David C
AU - Haro, Josep Maria
AU - Penninx, Brenda W J H
AU - Narayan, Vaibhav A
AU - Hotopf, Matthew
AU - Dobson, Richard J B
AU - Pratap, Abhishek
N1 - © 2025. The Author(s).
PY - 2025/4/18
Y1 - 2025/4/18
N2 - Seasonal and weather changes can significantly impact depression severity, yet findings remain inconsistent across populations. This study explored depression variations across the seasons and the interplays between weather changes, physical activity, and depression severity among 428 participants in a real-world longitudinal mobile health study. Clustering analysis identified four participant subgroups with distinct patterns of depression severity variations in 1 year. While one subgroup showed stable depression levels throughout the year, others peaked at various seasons. The subgroup with stable depression had older participants with lower baseline depression severity. Mediation analysis revealed temperature and day length significantly influenced depression severity, which in turn impacted physical activity levels indirectly. Notably, these indirect influences manifested differently or even oppositely across participants with varying responses to weather. These findings support the hypothesis of heterogeneity in individuals' seasonal depression variations and responses to weather, underscoring the necessity for personalized approaches in depression management and treatment.
AB - Seasonal and weather changes can significantly impact depression severity, yet findings remain inconsistent across populations. This study explored depression variations across the seasons and the interplays between weather changes, physical activity, and depression severity among 428 participants in a real-world longitudinal mobile health study. Clustering analysis identified four participant subgroups with distinct patterns of depression severity variations in 1 year. While one subgroup showed stable depression levels throughout the year, others peaked at various seasons. The subgroup with stable depression had older participants with lower baseline depression severity. Mediation analysis revealed temperature and day length significantly influenced depression severity, which in turn impacted physical activity levels indirectly. Notably, these indirect influences manifested differently or even oppositely across participants with varying responses to weather. These findings support the hypothesis of heterogeneity in individuals' seasonal depression variations and responses to weather, underscoring the necessity for personalized approaches in depression management and treatment.
U2 - 10.1038/s44184-025-00125-x
DO - 10.1038/s44184-025-00125-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 40251379
SN - 2731-4251
VL - 4
SP - 11
JO - NPJ Mental Health Research
JF - NPJ Mental Health Research
IS - 1
ER -