Seasonal Variation in Psychiatric Disorders Pak Armed Forces Med J 2022; 72 (4): 1318 Seasonal Variation in Psychiatric Disorders Among Patients Admitted at Armed Forces Institute of Mental Health Rawalpindi Nida Saleem, Rashid Qayyum*, Syed Muhammad Akram Hamdani**, Summaya Saleem***, Saleem Ullah****, Ammad Hassan Armed Forces Institute of Mental Health/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), Rawalpindi Pakistan, *Fazaia Medical College, Islamabad Pakistan, **Combined Military Hospital, Peshawar/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), Pakistan, ***Combined Military Hospital, Jhelum/ National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), Pakistan, ****Quetta Institute of Medical Sciences, Quetta Pakistan ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the seasonal variation in psychiatric disorders among patients admitted to the Armed Forces Institute of Mental Health. Study Design: Retrospective longitudinal study. Place and Duration of the Study: Armed Forces Institute of Mental Health Rawalpindi from Jun 2014 to May 2019. Methodology: A total of 3120 cases diagnosed according to ICD-10 criteria were included after evaluating a 5-year indoor hospital record. Around 30 psychiatric disorders among males and females aged 12- 65 were included. Cases of adjustment disorder in the military and those without any diagnosis were excluded. Disorders were allocated to 4 seasonal groups according to the months of admission, and Seasonal variation among them was evaluated. Results: The 5-year disease burden showed predominance for bipolar affective and depressive disorder with 887 (28.4%) and 728 (23.3%) frequency, respectively. The higher number of admissions 825 (26.4%) took place in autumn, followed by 809 (25.9%) in winter. Admissions for the depressive disorder were highest during autumn 212 (29.1%). Peak admissions in winter included bipolar affective disorder 233 (29.53%), acute mania 23 (36.5%), and mania with psychosis 12 (34.28%). Psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder were found prevalent in 2 seasons, 76 (26.0%) during the autumn and winter seasons each and 14 (29.0%) during the autumn and spring season each, respectively. Delusional disorder 4 (50.0%), paranoid psychosis 10 (45.0%) and acute and transient psychosis 17 (34.6%), and disorders with physical symptoms like dissociative 23 (36.0%) and conversion disorder 5 (33.0%), were especially widespread during spring. Conclusion: Significant seasonal variation exists among various psychiatric disorders. Keywords: Patients, Psychiatric disorder, Seasonal variation. How to Cite This Article: Saleem N, Qayyum R, Hamdani SMA, Saleem S, Ullah S, Hassan A. Seasonal Variation in Psychiatric Disorders Among Patients Admitted at Armed Forces Institute of Mental Health Rawalpindi. Pak Armed Forces Med J 2022; 72(4): 1318-1323. DOI: https://doi.org/10.51253/pafmj.v72i4.7407 INTRODUCTION Changing climatic conditions and associated sea- sonal variation has become a big challenge these days, and its consideration with a thorough understanding of its impact on mental health has been a topic of interest in public health globally. 1,2 Although in place for many years, this recognition is not well studied and the results produced are intangible despite the clear association between the variability in seasons and its influence on mental health. 3,4 The psychiatric field has been studying this link for quite some time, but the lag in research is specula- ting a public health challenge in future, especially with climate change all over the globe. Therefore, the Eco psychiatry branch needs support with new studies and data set. 5,1 The major roadblocks identified in the research establishing a link between seasonality and psychiatric condition are differences in geographical latitudes, like northern and southern hemispheres. This requires a strong need to research different parts of the world with climatic or seasonal differences. 4 The theory of seasonal impact on biological functions is substantiated by some studies. 6 The impact includes the reactionary change in behaviour and psychological and emotional well-being that could lead to psychiatric illness. 3 It has been postulated that environmental factors like seasonal change can cause congenital or neuro- developmental defects. 7 Similarly, meteorological fac- tors such as daylight duration, mean temperature, atmospheric pressure and humidity can trigger endo- genous mental conditions by changes in neurotrans- mitter level. 3 Serotonin, for instance, increases with exposure to bright light. The interaction of neurotrans- mitters like serotonin with dopamine, adrenaline and GABA, therefore, is responsible for overall brain homeostasis. 6 and their imbalance could result in a psychiatric disorder. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Correspondence: Dr Nida Saleem, Department of Psychiatry, Armed Forces Institute of Mental Health Rawalpindi Pakistan Received: 19 Sep 2020; revision received: 15 Feb 2021; accepted: 17 Dec 2021 nidasaleen_86@hotmail.com Original Article Open Access