Light Therapy for Depression in the Elderly

Our Critique

This was a well-designed and -conducted, randomized, controlled clinical trial. Investigators blinded participants and instructors to the study hypothesis. Interviews were conducted by clinicians who were blinded to treatment assignment. The findings clearly suggest that BLT alleviates depression in elderly patients. BLT decreases total sleep duration by advancing get-up time after final awakening while increasing sleep efficiency. Effect sizes were comparable to antidepressants without any adverse effects.

Clinical Decision

You share the findings of the study with your patient. You discuss that the study focused on subjects without seasonal variation, whereas her symptoms seem to be seasonally related. She is willing to try BLT. She invests in a light machine and returns to your 2 months later with a significant improvement in her depressive symptoms. Her husband thinks you are "brilliant" and tells all of their friends about this "amazing discovery."