Incidence of psychiatric disorders after extended residence in Antarctica.

Objectives: The incidence of psychiatric disorders and depressive symptoms was examined in a cohort of American men and women who spent an austral winter at two different research stations in Antarctica to determine whether extended residence of nonindigenous inhabitants in a polar region is associated with psychiatric morbidity.

Study Design: Debriefings interviews with 220 men and 93 women were conducted by 3 psychiatrists and 1 clinical psychologist at McMurdo Station and South Pole Station at the end of the austral winter between 1994 and 1997. Crewmembers were assigned a DSM-IV diagnosis if they satisfied diagnostic criteria.