Seasonal affective disorder and engagement in physical activities among adults in Alaska

Figures & data

Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics of survey participants (n = 91)

	n	%
Gender
Male	48	52.75
Female	43	47.25
Age
18–20	32	35.16
21–29	24	26.37
30–44	15	16.48
45–59	11	12.09
60+	9	9.89
Ethnicity
White	65	71.43
Multi-Ethnic (includes Hispanic in combination)	13	14.29
Asian	6	6.59
Native American/Alaska Native	3	3.30
Black/African American	2	2.20
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	1	1.10
Hispanic (alone)	1	1.10
Education
High school diploma	20	21.98
1–3 years post-secondary	31	34.07
Bachelor’s degree	17	18.68
Master’s degree	14	15.38
Doctoral degree	9	9.89
Marital Status
Single	57	62.64
Married	30	32.97
Divorced/Separated	4	4.40
Years Living in Northern Latitude
Less than 2	11	12.09
2–4	18	19.78
5–10	17	18.68
11–20	16	17.58
More than 20	29	31.87

Table 2. Seasonality and SAD by gender and age

	n	GSS Score M (SD)	% Feeling Worst in Winter	% Seasonal Change Problems	% Meet SAD Criteria	% Meet S-SAD Criteria
Overall	91	10.87 (5.29)	74.73	48.35	18.68	43.96
Men	48	9.88 (5.39)	68.75	45.83	14.58	37.50
Women	43	11.98 (5.01)	81.40	51.16	23.26	51.16
18–20	32	12.16 (4.81)	75.00	59.38	21.88	46.87
21–29	24	11.83 (5.04)	70.83	45.83	20.83	50.00
30–44	15	10.73 (5.55)	93.33	53.33	20.00	40.00
45–59	11	8.45 (5.32)	81.82	36.36	18.18	36.36
60+	9	6.89 (5.25)	44.44	22.22	0.00	33.33

Table 3. Logistic regression predicting SAD or sub-SAD experience

Predictor	Odds Ratio	95% Confidence Interval	p
Gender	2.65	1.07–6.59	.04
Age	.67	.45–1.01	.06
Northern years	1.15	.78–1.69	.49

Table 4. Linear regression predicting GSS

	Step 1			Step 2
Predictor	β	95% Confidence Interval	p	β	95% Confidence Interval	p
Gender	.18	−.16 – 3.98	.07	.16	−.39 – 3.71	.11
Age	−.40	−2.52 – −.64	.00	−.40	−2.52 – −.62	.00
Northern years	.16	−.29 – 1.47	.19	.19	−.18 – 1.58	.12
Frequency of gym use				−.07	−1.61 – .74	.47
Effectiveness of gym				.14	−.35 – 1.83	.18
Gym sociality				.21	.19 – 4.32	.03