HOW SAD IS YOUR STATE?
STATISTICS FINAL PROJECT
MARK GRUNEWALD

I chose to explore the topic of if individuals in overall colder states have more cases of depression than in the warmer states. While doing research on this topic I stumbled upon many different reasons as to why my topic could be proven factual. The first disorder I found was Seasonal Affective Disorder which is primarily individuals whose moods are determined by the weather. Another topic I discover was that “normal” health individuals are affected by the weather as well. The topic that stood out the most to me is SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I chose to accept this topic because rarely so I hear anything about SAD let alone someone talking about it.

WHAT IS SAD?
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that tends to occur (and recur) as the days grow shorter in the fall and winter. It is believed that affected people react adversely to the decreasing amounts of sunlight and the colder temperatures as the fall and winter progress. It is important to note that although seasonal affective disorder usually presents in the fall and winter there are those who suffer from this condition during the summer instead of, or in addition to, during the fall or winter. Seasonal affective disorder has not been long recognized as an official diagnosis. The term first appeared in print in 1985. Seasonal affective disorder is also sometimes called winter depression, winter blues, or the hibernation reaction.

The incidence of seasonal affective disorder increases in people who are living farther away from the equator. Statistics on seasonal affective disorder in the United States include that this disorder occurs in about 5% of adults, with up to 20% of people having some symptoms of the condition but not sufficient enough to meet diagnostic criteria for this disorder. Seasonal affective disorder is less common where there is snow on the ground. Seasonal affective disorder is about four times more common in women than men, and the average age of people when they first develop this illness is 23 years of age. People of all ages can develop seasonal affective disorder.

WHAT CAUSES SAD?
Seasonal affective disorder is said to be developed from having inadequate sunshine during the colder months. It’s found through research that sunshine has something to do with the changes of chemicals in our brains. While those specific mechanisms remain undetermined, factors like low vitamin D levels in the blood are found to be associated with a higher occurrence of seasonal affective disorder and some other depressive disorders.

WHY ANY READER WOULD WANT TO KNOW THESE RESULTS If you can catch a cold, the flu, and certain diseases why can’t you catch someone’s state of mind? Though depression is not technically catching, research shows that someone with a blue mood can negatively impact the spirits of those around them. That is why having a depressed family member or friend can be very difficult, stressful, and draining. A loved one with depression can put additional stress on both those who care for him and those who depend on him. Someone would want to know the results of this experiment if they are looking to move to another state. I believe that if a state has a high rate of depression then there could be a chance that you may encounter someone who suffers from depression. In the workplace, place of enjoyment or a new friend may be a victims and being around them often could cause depression to rub off. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED… During this experiment I have learned that there are different causes of depression. It could be hereditary, caused from an extreme event in someone’s life or sleeping habits can contribute to depressive symptoms. SAD is much more common the further from the equator you go. In countries far from the equator the end of summer means the beginning of less sunlight and more dark hours. A person who develops a depressive illness during the winter months might have SAD. The symptoms go away during spring and/or summer. Although I have learned that my beginning thesis has been proven to be faulty. From the results, I have highlighted the states with the highest percent of depression and I compared it to the states average temperature. I have concluded that although states may have higher average temperatures, they can still have higher rates of depression. RESULTS L1 L2 States | Population | Amount with Depression %age | Average temperature °F | Alabama | 4,517,442 | 7.39 | 62.8 | Alaska | 656,834 | 7.22 | 26.6 | Arkansas | 2,746,823 | 8.39 | 60.4 | California | 35,841,254 | 6.88 | 59.4 | Florida | 17,366,593 | 6.98 | 70.7 | Georgia | 8,935,151 | 7.96 | 63.5 | Hawaii | 1,259,299 | 6.74 | 70.0 | Idaho | 1,394,524 | 8.47 | 44.4 | Illinois | 12,713,548 | 7.13 | 51.8 | Indiana | 6,223,329 | 8.9 | 51.7 | Iowa | 2,953,679 | 7.35 | 47.8 | Kansas | 2,738,356 | 8.22 | 54.3 | Kentucky | 4,140,427 | 8.53 | 55.6 | Louisiana | 4,495,706 | 7.03 | 66.4 | Maine | 1,313,921 | 8.98 | 41.0 | Maryland | 5,553,249 | 6.99 | 54.2 | Massachusetts | 6,435,995 | 7.75 | 47.9 | Michigan | 10,093,398 | 7.4 | 44.4 | Minnesota | 5,094,304 | 7.16 | 41.2 | Mississippi | 2,892,668 | 7.76 | 63.4 | Missouri | 5,752,861 | 8.6 | 54.5 | Montana | 926,345 | 9.28 | 42.7 | Nebraska | 1,746,980 | 7.92 | 48.8 | Nevada | 2,332,484 | 9.8 | 49.9 | New Hampshire | 1,297,961 | 7.18 | 43.8 | New Jersey | 8,675,879 | 6.81 | 52.7 | New Mexico | 1,900,620 | 8.37 | 53.4 | New York | 19,291,526 | 7.34 | 45.4 | Texas | 22,517,901 | 7.04 | 64.8 | Washington | 6,205,535 | 7.86 | 48.3 | Wyoming | 505,534 | 9.3 | 42.0 |

Box and Whisker Plot

5 Number Summaries
Min: 505,534
Q1: 1,746,980
Med: 4,495,706
Q3: 8,675,875
Max: 35,841,254

IQR:
Q3-Q1= 8,675,875-1,746,980= 6,928,895

Upper Quartile Cutoff
Q3+1.5*IQR=

8,675,875+1.5*6,928,895=19,069,217.5

Lower Quartile Cut off
Q1-1.5*IQR=

1,746,980-1.5*6,928,895= -8,646,362.5

Min: 505,534
Max: 35,841,254
Outlier: 22,517,901 (Texas) and 35,841,254 (California)
Peaks: none
Gaps: between 22,517,901 and 35,841,254
Symmetric/Skew: skewed to the left

Least Square Regression Line ŷ= .082+ (-4.9 E-10x) r= .451 (correlation) r²= .203 (regression)

20.3% of variation of depression is explained by the LSRL.

REFERENCES

http://www.medicinenet.com/seasonal_affective_disorder_sad/article.htm

http://www.currentresults.com/Weather/US/average-annual-state-temperatures.php

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:K3THoaVZKfoJ:corrections.utah.gov/inmate_care/pdf/RankingAmericasMentalHealthMHANovember2007_1.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiM71c_8hCcOChv00to8RQiF_8-czHIM8EYAZ3OXSNz02FGeB2l4hnAjeakH4RXskMpY69TGs862nNpveI2cQsZcy3gAR1d7g6GrZIIHvENlsKbIHH3NTe30-Ttqy5Avelq5kGt&sig=AHIEtbR8iDFSOfGxB8RqdhBUqy0R3Ug7tg&pli=1