Depressive disorder is a chronic mental illness with a high prevalence, recurrence, and disability rate, mainly manifested as persistent mood decline, reduced speech, and mental activity. The disease may involve various factors, including neurotransmitters, hormone levels, and cell signaling. Depression is a common mental health issue worldwide, with a notably higher occurrence in China (Liu et al., 2020; Ren et al., 2020). Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, is a specific subtype of depressive disorder. Its symptoms primarily include low mood, sleepiness, lack of energy, fatigue, and weight gain. This condition is especially common in winter, with studies showing that the proportion of SAD patients among those with major depression is between 10 % to 20 %. Research has also found that the number of depressive patients born in autumn and winter significantly exceeds other seasons (Galima et al., 2020; Bertrand et al., 2021). The occurrence of SAD is related to various factors, including chronic diseases, genetic factors, and social environmental factors, of which the influence of social environmental factors accounts for >70 %. Regarding the association between insufficient light and SAD, the role of melatonin has been extensively studied. In winter, melatonin secretion increases significantly, which is considered one of the main reasons leading to SAD (Yang et al., 2020; Nussbaumer-Streit et al., 2020).

Since 1993, light therapy has become an effective treatment for SAD, gaining recognition and benefiting more and more patients. In addition to this, medication also plays an indispensable role in the treatment of SAD. In this regard, Bupropion (bupropion hydrochloride extended-release tablets) is the first drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention of SAD. Before this, the drug was only approved for the treatment of major depression (Belge et al., 2022). Bupropion is a novel antidepressant. Preliminary studies suggest that its action may be related to the regulation of norepinephrine and/or dopamine. Adverse reactions to Bupropion include dry mouth, nausea, insomnia, dizziness, pharyngitis, abdominal pain, anxiety, restlessness, tremors, palpitations, sweating, tinnitus, muscle pain, anorexia, frequent urination, and rash. These reactions not only affect patients' treatment adherence and quality of life but may also lead to more severe medical issues (Vegda and Panda, 2020; Schwitalla et al., 2019).

To comprehensively understand Bupropion's adverse reactions, this study systematically assessed it using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) as a data source. We employed various signal quantification techniques, including Reporting Odds Ratio (ROR), Proportional Reporting Ratio (PRR), Bayesian Confidence Propagation Neural Network (BCPNN), and Multi-item Gamma Poisson Shrinker (MGPS), to deeply analyze Bupropion's safety and potential risks from different perspectives, which might help to identify drug-specific associations rather than those that are present for antidepressants in general.