Limitations of seasonal pattern assessment questionnaire and development of shastun’s questionnaire for assessment of seasonal affective disorders, among namibian students in Moscow

Background. The environmental transition from one country to another after migration may be also associated with change in seasons, weather and climate as well as in psychosocial stress which may put a greater demand on physiology and metabolism of migrants that may predispose to cardiometabolic risk. This is commonly seen among students of the People’s Friendship University of Russia. Moscow. This study examines the validity of the newly developed questionnaire by Dr Shastun, for assessment of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) among students of Namibia studying at Moscow. Subjects and Methods. After approval by the Review board/ethics committee of Faculty of Medicine, People’s Friendship University of Russia, Moscow and written informed consent, subjects were recruited for this study. The study involved; Namibian students migrating to Russia while studying in Moscow. Of 87 students from Namibia, all of them volunteered to participate in the study. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) was studied by Shastun’s questionnaire and Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). The SPAQ is a brief, self-administered screening tool for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which may have limitations. The criterion for diagnosis of SAD was a score of 11 or higher on this scale which means the highest level of SAD. The diagnosis SAD was also made by administering Shastun’s questionnaire. Results. The results indicate that clinical manifestations indicating SAD were rare while the students were in Namibia, which showed significant increase after migration to Russia and staying minimum for one year. Hypersomnia, overeating and carbohydrate craving were common manifestations of SAD. The prevalence of SAD by Shastun’s questionnaire was significantly lower compared to frequency of SAD by SPAQ, respectively (11.9% vs. 18.5%, P ≤ 0.05). The number of sunny days per year and the average annual temperature of the region of stay appear to be the most significant confounders and for the occurrence of cardiometabolic risks among students. Conclusions. Shastun’s questionnaire could be better instrument in accuracy in the diagnosis of SAD, because SPAQ has a few limitations. © Nova Science Publishers, Inc.