6/28/23, 12:25 AM Can-SAD Pathway Feedback Search Clinical Topics Home Studies Can-SAD Can-SAD Disease Seasonal affective disorder Trial question What is the effect of light therapy in patients with winter seasonal affective disorder? Study design Multi-center Double blinded RCT Population Characteristics of study participants 67.0% female N = 96 33.0% male 96 patients (64 female, 32 male) Inclusion criteria: patients with winter seasonal affective disorder Key exclusion criteria: pregnancy, serious suicidal risk, DSM-IV criteria for organic mental disorders, substance use disorders within the last year, schizophrenia, paranoid or delusional disorders, other psychotic disorders, bipolar I disorder, panic disorder, or GAD not concurrent with major depressive episodes; serious unstable medical illness Interventions N=48 light therapy (10,000-lux light treatment and a placebo capsule for 8 weeks) N=48 fluoxetine (fluoxetine 20 mg/day and placebo light of 100-lux for 8 weeks) Primary outcome 24-item Hamilton Depression Scale score at week 1 22.2 22.2 20.7 16 6 https://web.pathway.md/studies/recgbXovpuJJl0mND 1/2 6/28/23, 12:25 AM Can-SAD Pathway 16.6 11.1 5.5 No significant difference 0.0 Light therapy Fluoxetine No significant difference in 24-item Hamilton Depression Scale score at week 1 (20.7 vs. 22.2; AD -1.5, 95% CI -3 to 0) Secondary outcomes No significant difference in clinical response (67% vs. 67%; RR 1, 95% CI -76794.23 to 76796.23) No significant difference in clinical remission (50% vs. 54%; RR 0.93, 95% CI -7.51 to 9.37) Safety outcomes No significant difference in treatment-emergent adverse event. Significant differences in agitation (0% vs. 12.5%), sleep disturbance (2.1% vs. 29.2%), and palpitations (0% vs. 10.4%). Conclusion In patients with winter seasonal affective disorder, light therapy was superior to fluoxetine with respect to a 24-item Hamilton Depression Scale score at week 1. Reference Lam RW, Levitt AJ, Levitan RD et al. The Can-SAD study: a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of light therapy and fluoxetine in patients with winter seasonal affective disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 2006 May;163(5):805-12. Open reference URL https://web.pathway.md/studies/recgbXovpuJJl0mND 2/2