Group-level studies showed associations between depressive symptoms and circadian rhythm elements, though whether these associations replicate at the within-person level remains unclear. We investigated whether changes in circadian rhythm elements (namely, rest-activity rhythm, physical activity, and sleep) occur close to depressive symptom transitions and whether there are differences in the amount and direction of circadian rhythm changes in individuals with and without transitions. We used 4 months of actigraphy data from 34 remitted individuals tapering antidepressants (20 with and 14 without depressive symptom transitions) to assess circadian rhythm variables. Within-person kernel change point analyses were used to detect change points (CPs) and their timing in circadian rhythm variables. In 69% of individuals experiencing transitions, CPs were detected near the time of the transition. No-transition participants had an average of 0.64 CPs per individual, which could not be attributed to other known events, compared to those with transitions, who averaged 1 CP per individual. The direction of change varied between individuals, although some variables showed clear patterns in one direction. Results supported the hypothesis that CPs in circadian rhythm occurred more frequently close to transitions in depression. However, a larger sample is needed to understand which circadian rhythm variables change for whom, and more single-subject research to untangle the meaning of the large individual differences.

群体层面的研究表明抑郁症状与昼夜节律要素之间存在关联，但这些关联是否在人体内复制仍不清楚。我们研究了昼夜节律要素（即休息活动节律、体力活动和睡眠）的变化是否在抑郁症状转变附近发生，以及有和没有转变的个体昼夜节律变化的数量和方向是否存在差异。我们使用了 34 名逐渐减少抗抑郁药物缓解的个体（20 名有抑郁症状转变，14 名没有抑郁症状转变）的 4 个月的体动记录数据来评估昼夜节律变量。人内核心变化点分析用于检测昼夜节律变量中的变化点（CP）及其时间。在 69% 经历转变的个体中，在接近转变时间时检测到了 CP。无转变的参与者平均每人有 0.64 个 CP，这不能归因于其他已知事件，而有转变的参与者平均每人有 1 个 CP。尽管某些变量在一个方向上表现出明显的模式，但个体之间的变化方向各不相同。结果支持这样的假设：昼夜节律中的 CP 在抑郁症转变附近发生的频率更高。然而，需要更大的样本来了解哪些昼夜节律变量会为谁而改变，并且需要更多的单受试者研究来阐明巨大个体差异的含义。