Accelerated post-glucose glycaemia and altered alliesthesia-test in Seasonal Affective Disorder

Backgronnd: Little is known about the link between mood, food and metabolic function in Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Methods: We investigated th is link in a combined glucose tolerance-alliesthesia test in eight SAD pati ents in winter before and after one week light therapy, and in summer. Resu lts: SAD patients exhibited faster post-glucose glycaemic and insulin respo nses (p < 0.05), and increased hedonic ratings of high concentrated sucrose solutions (p < 0.035) when depressed in winter than when euthymic tone wee k after light treatment or in summer). Conclusions: The rapid glycaemic and insulin responses to an oral glucose load may be a result of accelerated g astric emptying. Limitations: The number of studied patients was rather sma ll and no control group was studied in parallel. Clinical relevance: the mo re rapid post-glucose glycaemia may impair glucose homeostasis in depressed SAD patients. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights resented.